Josh stared at her for a moment in complete silence.
"Say something—." She mumbled, the silence becoming unbearable.
"Jules I—There's really nothing I can say. You're my little sister—and just—You're way to tough to need steroids."
She looked down at her hands, "I've ruined everything."
"No you haven't—Did you go anywhere?"
"I just left, one of my teammates was going to help me get through this. I couldn't stay at that place any longer, it made me worse."
Josh shook his head and pulled her into a hug, "Well—you're home now—and until you're ready to get back out there, you can stay here as long as you want."
"You're not mad?"
He glanced at the tears in her eyes and smiled, "I cant be mad, being mad isn't going to make anything better."
She smiled softly and wiped a few tears from her eyes, "I—I—I'm so glad I came home."
Josh nodded and brushed her bangs from her forehead—
"I wouldn't be glad to be here right now if I was you—." A sudden voice broke from the hallway.
Jules looked up to see her father standing in the doorway with his arms crossed. He shook his head once and turned, marching away angrily.
"Daddy—." She sobbed, knowing she had disappointed him beyond belief.
Josh pulled her close, "I'll deal with him."
"No—I have to." She stated, throwing a hand across her eyes to absorb tears.
He nodded, "He'll understand—If you tell him what happened."
"But he wont let me go back out there."
"As much as I don't want to believe it—you're a grown woman, you don't need your father's permission."
Jules looked him in the eye and nodded, "I just cant lose his support." She stood up and pressed her fingers together, walking out of her room and down to her father's room.
"You guys haven't changed this place a bit." She spoke softly. Her father lied on his back, on the bed, looking up at the ceiling.
"No reason to."
She smiled and looked around, walking over to the nightstand. "I haven't seen a picture of Mom in years." She lifted a frame into her hands and a tear fell slowly.
"You look just like her."
Jules grinned and sat down next to him on his bed, "Dad—."
"Julianna, why?" He stated, sitting up against the headboard.
"I've had a rough few months."
"Oh no—Not another boy—."
She giggled, "There is one—but he's not the issue."
Her father smiled softly, "What happened…"
She looked down at her hands and kept her eye contact at a minimum.
"Tell me—."
Jules ignored him from a moment. She stood up and walked across the room to see a wall covered in plaques and awards. "Why did you leave?"
"What?"
"Why did you quit—why did you take us all the way out here?"
"I had my reasons—."
She looked back at him then back at the wall, "I was shot."
"You what?" He knew what she had said, but he just had to clarify it.
"A sniper—at City Hall. He was trying to get revenge because Ed Lane killed his father. He came to shoot Ed—but I—."
"Why didn't you have a shield young lady?"
She glanced over at him as he stood up and walked over next to her. "I did—I also had a partner, a vest, a helmet—everything."
"Then why the hell were you shot!"
"He was taking out officers—trying to draw Ed out."
Her father pressed his palms to his forehead, "I cant believe this. You're not—."
"Going back? Yes I am."
"No—No the hell you aren't. I'm not going to have your Sergeant calling me up one day to tell me that my little girl's body is lying in a morgue with a fatal gunshot wound."
She cringed as he spoke.
"This isn't a woman's job. A woman's job is to stay home with the kids—pack school lunches and go to the store. You don't belong out there."
She bit her lip and shook her head, "You're wrong—."
"What did you just say to me?"
"You're wrong—you're wrong about everything. I'm able to do this job, I don't belong at home—taking care of kids—I belong out there with my team, taking care of people that are caught within the worst 20 minutes of their life."
Her dad stared at her for a second then smiled, "That's what I like to hear."
She laughed, her dad always knew how to mess with her head, "So I can go back—?"
"Are you going to let your old man stop ya?"
She shook her head and hugged him tightly, "I love you dad."
"Love you too sweetie." He mumbled. "But—Nevermind." The moment was too sweet to bring the original issue back into the picture. He held onto her like he hadn't seen her in forever—which he hadn't. "I missed being here—."
"But when do you need to be back at work?" He asked her.
She shrugged, "I should be back right now—But—I'm just not ready."
"Well no one's forcing you to get back on the job so soon."
"But dad—I'm supposed to be there. I've probably lost my job over all of this."
Her father shook his head and kissed her forehead, "Don't worry baby girl—Why don't you just head downstairs and grab something to eat, you've got to be hungry."
She glanced at him for a moment and nodded, turning to leave and walk downstairs.
"I see he didn't yell at you like he did the night you came home from that party in the 10th grade." Josh spoke suddenly as he came out of his room. Jules looked over and giggled, "No—It was pretty calm actually. He didn't even bring up—."
"You wanna go see the new land we bought?" Josh asked calmly. Jules smiled and nodded, "Sure." When he tossed her a helmet from the closet she giggled, "What in the—."
"Four wheeler—Bet ya haven't ridden one of those in a while."
She shook her head and followed him outside to the driveway where he had one parked, "Hop on" He stated as they climbed onto the red, dirt-covered four wheeler, and tore out of the driveway, ripping through the grass and mud.
--------------
"Sergeant—It's Callaghan."
***
"Jack Callaghan—Haven't heard from you in a while. How are you?"
***
Jules' father coughed silently, "Getting old. Sergeant—We need to discuss something."
***
"I know why you're calling."
***
"Why did no one tell me that my daughter was shot?"
***
"She wanted to keep it between the team. Jules wouldn't let us give any information to reporters or anything. She wanted it to be kept a secret."
***
"Well she's my daughter! How the hell could you even let her get shot! You promised to me—."
***
"I said I would keep her safe, but I cant control the subjects out there. She was in full gear and was just as protected as every other officer out there."
***
Jack leaned back into the chair he was sitting in, looking out the window as he saw his son and daughter riding a four-wheeler over the worn grass field. "It's just—If I had to claim her body like I did my wife's—I don't know what I'd do with myself. She's my little girl and her being put on the line like this just scares the hell out of me."
***
"But she's incredible at what she does."
***
"Then why was she using steroids."
***
Greg swallowed deeply and sighed, "Jack…You know how this job goes, one minute you think you're in the game—the next minute you feel like you're behind. Jules came back strong but something in her told her she wasn't strong enough."
***
"I know, I know—It just tears me up thinking that she doesn't feel strong enough for it. I mean—I was wondering if she should just stick out here in Medicine Hat for a while."
***
"Jack—She cant leave the team over this."
***
He shrugged, "And why not?"
***
"She's got a place here at the SRU. She's family to us, we love her—."
***
"Who's this boy I hear of?" He asked curiously, not knowing what Greg's response would be.
***
Greg sighed, "Constable Braddock—He's on the team. Ex-JTF2 guy, her partner."
***
"The man who let my daughter take a bullet?"
***
"Jack—He didn't cause that. He loves her more than anything in the world—he was the one at her bedside for weeks while she healed. I'm supposed to get them to break up within the next two weeks but hell I cant do it."
***
"Well end it."
***
"But—."
***
"She doesn't need a man in her life. Its stressful enough as it is. Keep that guy away from my daughter—threaten their jobs, I don't care—Just do it. This job is risky enough as it is—but adding a man she loves working by her side everyday will only end with someone getting hurt, physically or mentally."
***
Greg took a deep breath, "Mr. Callaghan—she's a grown woman—and neither of us are going to make decisions for her. It was nice hearing from you."
----------------------------
Jack just grunted in frustration and hung up the phone, slinging it to a chair next to him and exchanging it with a frame. He looked down at the picture of Jules at eight years old—at her first paintball competition. She was dressed in full gear and holding her first paintball gun, holding it in one hand and her dad's hand in the other.
"You've grown up over the years, but you're still my little girl—and I wont ever let anything happen to you." He thought as he stared at the picture, wiping a tear from his face. He put it down and walked over to the window to see Josh out in the field tackling Jules like they were kids again, "You finally got away from there—no way in hell am I letting you go back."
BLEH! I hate crappy endings…even though I always write crappy endings. Oh well, I'll try to update soon (: I have a three day weekend this weekend so yay (: Three days I can update!