Chapter 6. Enjoy!


Team One sat around the hospital waiting room, their blank stares, red eyes, and pale faces saying more than words ever could.

Only Sam stood, pacing relentlessly around the room, anxious for news. They had finished the call without difficulty, but the damage had been done.

Once Annie Thompson had arrived on the scene, she had tearfully confirmed Spike's suspicions. Since childhood, the more violent and less controlled Randy had always been dragging Andrew into sticky situations. This time, the Auction House had been selling the car that had been Randy's before the bank had taken it from him. Desperate to get it back, Randy had convinced his older brother to go with him to the Auction House and reclaim it. Randy had been the only one to fire a gun.

Soon after Jules had been whisked off to the hospital, the Bravo Team had found Andrew. The stand-off had been brief. Upon hearing his brother's fate, any fight had left Andrew, and he allowed himself to be taken away without a struggle.

Team One had raced to the hospital with blaring sirens while Sam and Wordy were being investigated by the SIU. As soon as they had been cleared, they had rushed to the hospital, anxiously awaiting news.

It was Greg who first broke the silence. "Should we call her boyfriend? That Ryan guy?"

"No," Leah quickly interjected, earning her some glances of partial interest.

"Why not, Leah?" Ed asked, the words coming out harsher than he had intended.

Leah blushed slightly, not wanting to betray her friend's plan. She decided to tell a partial truth.

"They broke up, about a week ago," she said softly.

Sam looked up and stopped pacing, surprised. Spike voiced his thoughts for him. "She didn't say anything to us," he spoke up for the first time, his voice scratchy from lack of use.

Leah had an easy answer for that one. "We're girls, we talk about things guys don't," she spoke apologetically.

Satisfied with Leah's reasoning, Team One lapsed back into a brooding and impatient silence. Sam resumed pacing anxiously, two thoughts whirling through his brain.

What the hell is taking them so long? was the first one, and the rest of the team had similar thoughts permeating their minds. The second one, however, was of a more personal matter. I love her, I can't be without her any longer. She broke up with Ryan, what's there to lose?

It was at this time that Sam decided he would tell Jules how he felt. If she rejected him, at least he would have come clean. If she was willing to take the plunge, then he was going to hold her the way he'd wanted to for so long. And he wasn't sure he would ever be able to let go.

It seemed like an eternity later when a doctor finally entered the waiting room. As one, Team One rose to their feet, desperate for any information on Jules' condition.

Seeing the anxious group before him, the doctor glanced up from his clipboard, looking sombre. "You're with Julianna Callaghan?"

Greg was the one who spoke on behalf of the team. Unable to completely hide the panicky tremor in his voice, he replied, "That's right. Is she okay?"

Team One watched the doctor carefully, studying his body language for any clue on their beloved teammate's condition. There was a thick silence as they waited with baited breath for the doctor's report.

"Thankfully, the bullet missed Julianna's major organs. She's lost a lot of blood; the bullet nicked an artery, but we were able to stabilize her."

Upon hearing this news, Spike sank down on his chair, his hands over his face in relief. Ed exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Leah closed her eyes, silently thanking God for keeping Jules safe. Greg ran his hand over his head, finally calmed. Wordy's rabbitty breaths slowly regulated themselves. Sam's heart rate slowed from "catastrophe" to almost normal.

"So she's okay?" Sam clarified, voicing the team's hopes cautiously.

"We won't know for sure until she wakes up," the doctor said, with the air of someone who was choosing their words very carefully. "But as of right now, I don't see why she wouldn't make a full recovery with time."

"When can we see her?" asked Ed, his voice nearly cracking with emotion.

The doctor cracked his first real smile of the conversation. "You can go up right now if you'd like. She's on the fourth floor, room 421. She's in the ICU, but I expect her to be moved tomorrow. She's lucky to have such great friends," the doctor said, smiling with approval at the group.

"Family," Spike corrected quietly, the rest of the team nodding their confirmation.

The doctor looked slightly confused, but he seemed to decide to let the issue drop. He quietly lead Team One to Jules' room. Silently excusing himself, he left them some privacy.


Jules reluctantly left the warm embrace of her dream behind. Now that it was gone, she couldn't remember the details, but she knew it had to do with her and Sam. It had been a good dream, too. Now, all she was aware of was engulfing blackness and the muffled sound of voices. Confused, Jules strained her muddled mind around for an explanation.

Slowly, painfully slowly, the memories drifted back to her. Reaching the gunshot and finding nothing past that point, her somewhat-less-fuzzy mind reached the conclusion that she must have been shot.

Again.

So this was a hospital, then.

It took almost all her effort to bring herself back to the present and focus on the voices around her.

" – I think I saw her move," was the first thing she could make out. It took her sluggish brain far too long to identify the voice as Wordy's.

"Shh!" someone hissed. She thought it might be Ed.

She tried to force her eyes open, but it surpassed her current abilities. She was close, though, she could tell.

"Jules, sweetheart? Can you hear us?" that was the Boss, this was getting easier.

"Jules?" questioned a voice to her left. There was no mistaking that voice, and with a great struggle she managed to crack her eyes open and blink up at Sam's worried expression.

Seeing her eyes open, Sam's face instantly light up with relief and happiness. "Jules? How are you feeling?"

Blinking against the harsh lights, Jules opened her mouth, trying to clear the fuzzy feeling from her pounding head. "This is a hospital bed," she said, sounding more than a little dim.

"Those must be some damn good drugs," Spike tried to lighten the mood with a joke. Good old Spike....

Ed laughed cautiously, eyeing Jules with concern. Shooting a less-effective-than-usual glare at him, Jules shifted herself into a more comfortable position, ignoring the sharp pain in her abdomen.

"You were shot, Jules," Sam eyed her anxiously, trying to gage her reaction to the news.

"No shit, Sherlock," Jules chuckled. The buzz was still there, but being conscious was helping her think more clearly.

"Still as sarcastic as ever," Leah spoke up from the corner.

The team laughed, finally able to breathe properly. It had been a long day.

"You should get some rest, Jules," Greg said affectionately. "We'll come visit again in the morning."

Jules nodded tiredly, not having enough energy to protest. Slowly, murmuring soft goodbyes, Team One filed out of the small, bare room. Soon, only Sam and Jules were left in the room.

"Sam, you should get some sleep," she said gently. "You look like hell."

He flicked his gaze around the room anxiously before pulling up a chair on her left side. She felt as though her heart had stopped, but the monitors on her right said otherwise.

"I need to tell you something," he blurted out.

"Okay, well spit it out, I'm tired," she urged, hoping she would like what he had to say.

Sam shut his eyes for a moment, like he was steeling himself for something. Jules recognized the signs.

Taking a deep breath, he said, "I'm still in love with you, Jules."

TBC


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