Disclaimer: Okay, I'm beginning to think I'll never own Flashpoint. GRR!
Author's Note: I know after the last chapter I said I would be wrapping this up, but this story just doesn't want to end. So, we go on. Here's a little bit on the first day back at work for the team members who weren't so rudely shot in the season finale. I've got a little more than this written, but the kid wants me to play catch with him and, let's face it, he's 12. Any day now he's going to decide he wants nothing more to do with me until he hits 20 or so. (He already is convinced I don't know anything.) :-)
Anyway, here's Lucky Chapter 13!
Wordy pulled his car into a parking spot at SRU headquarters and turned off the engine. Instead of getting out, though, he sat staring out the windshield at the field bordering the lot. Shelley had managed to get him into their doctor's office the day before and he had explained his symptoms as well as his concerns about being able to do his job. The doctor, a general practitioner, had given him a complete physical examination, including vision and hearing tests, as well as some basic coordination and cognitive tests. The doctor had also taken a blood sample to be sent out for a full workup and had referred Wordy to a neurologist for further testing. He explained that the symptoms, when taken all together, indicated the possibility of Parkinson's disease, but that he couldn't say definitively what the cause was; that would be determined by the neurological exam. He also explained that even if it turned out to be Parkinson's, there was no reason he should have to quit his job in the short term. The muscle twitching was minimal at this point and with treatment, they might be able to forestall further deterioration, at least for the time being. As long as his work performance did not diminish, the doctor saw no reason why Wordy would not be able to continue working for now. Of course, how long he would be able to continue working depended upon the final diagnosis and prognosis.
Then again, Wordy knew it wasn't entirely up to the doctors. A lot would depend on his superiors in the SRU. He knew Dr. Toth would have discussed his concerns in more detail with Greg by now, possibly even with Commander Holleran. He was pretty sure Greg would work with him for the time being; he wasn't so sure about Holleran. What Wordy knew about the man was purely anecdotal. He had never reported directly to him, nor had he ever worked closely with him, so he had no real sense of what he would do. If Toth convinced Holleran that Wordy was a potential threat to the safety of the team, that could be all she wrote, he thought. He might already be done with the SRU and possibly even Metro PD. As it had several times over the past few days, his breath hitched at the mere thought that his career might be over. Fear started to seep into his mind again and he had to work consciously to remove it. Shelley had tried her best to be supportive and encouraging, telling him that no matter what happened, as long as the five of them remained together, they would make it. But, Wordy knew his wife was worried, too. With three young girls, a mortgage and bills mounting, they couldn't afford for him to lose his job.
Wordy shook his head. I'm going around in circles again, he thought to himself. He thought back to when he had left the house that morning. After Claire and Lilly had given him their goodbye hugs and kisses, Shel had wrapped her arms around him and held him close for a while. She had looked up at him and said softly, "One day at a time," before gently kissing him and letting him go. Finally stepping out of the car, Wordy held on to that as he grabbed his bag and headed in to learn his fate and that of his team.
Sam was already in the locker room when Wordy walked in and set his bag down on the bench. The two men nodded to each other, though they were too wrapped up in their own thoughts to speak. Sam finished dressing and was just stepping around the stand of lockers when he was almost run into by Spike who was just making his way in. The bomb tech muttered a distracted apology as he stepped around his teammate.
"Spike?" Sam looked concernedly at his friend. "Everything okay?" He shared a look with Wordy when Spike just nodded and opened his locker. He started changing silently, not looking at either of the other two men. Sam shrugged and continued out of the room.
"So, Spike, Bridget seems real nice," said Wordy, trying to engage his friend in conversation.
"Mm hmm," replied Spike noncommittally.
"Hot and nice," Wordy continued, "that's a rare and terrific combination, buddy. You should hold on to her; even Shelley said so."
"Yeah," agreed Spike. He was quiet as he pulled out his boots and sat down on the bench to put them on.
Wordy finished dressing and quietly closed his locker. With one last look at his teammate, he walked slowly out toward the briefing room.
Spike only half-listened as Wordy's footsteps faded until they were gone. All he could think about was the rather short conversation he had had with his mother at breakfast. Actually, it wasn't a conversation so much as his mother stating that his father would be coming home that afternoon. Spike hadn't actually said anything; he had just nodded and, after downing the rest of his orange juice, he got up, kissed his mother goodbye and left for work, grabbing his bag on the way out. Now, he just sat on the bench and rubbed his face with his hands.
With a heavy sigh, he stood up and started to close his locker, stopping to look into the mirror on the inside of the door as he did so. He could see why his friends sounded so worried. He had been so out of sorts the last time they had seen him and now there were bags and dark circles starting to form under his eyes from the lack of sleep the night before. He had tossed and turned for hours last night as his mind replayed the confrontation with his father. He had tried so hard to remain calm and to try to talk to his father, to try to explain his position. But, he had failed miserably and had just made things worse. When he got home from work today, his father would already be there and Spike just knew the silent treatment would start all over again. He wasn't sure he could take much more of it.
To make matters worse, now he had to go sit in the briefing room and find out just how effed up the team was going to be now that Ed was out of commission and the requalification was over. He was sure there were going to be changes to the team and not just because of Ed. He hadn't spoken with any of his teammates since Sunday night at the hospital, except for the boss on Monday, of course. But, Sarge hadn't said anything about the results of the requalification, except to say that they had nothing to worry about. They were still the best team in the SRU and that would be taken into consideration.
Still, Spike realized that Wordy at least thought he had something to worry about and he knew both Sam and Jules definitely had to worry about the fallout from their affair if Toth had found out about it. Yep, there were definitely changes afoot and not necessarily good ones. Spike knew change was inevitable; it was part of the job. Didn't mean he had to like it though.
He glanced at his watch, silently cursing as he realized he was now late for the briefing. He grabbed his binder in his right hand and winced as he transferred it roughly into the left before slamming the locker door shut. One of these days I'm going to have to remember before shoving something into that hand that it's gouged all to Hell, he thought to himself. He then hustled around the lockers toward the door, stopping in his tracks as his gaze fell on Lew's plaque. Once again, he considered quitting his job to appease his father. At least it would make the old man happy for the time he had left. He shook his head to clear it and tried to focus on the job now. If he didn't start doing that, it wouldn't matter anyway. He'd be off the team and probably out of SRU in a heartbeat. He exited the locker room at a jog and met his sergeant at the top of the stairs.
"Spike," Greg greeted him with a worried smile, "I was just coming to get you," he said before continuing softly. "How're you doing, buddy? You all right?"
The younger man nodded half-heartedly. "Yep, I'm good, boss," he replied, plastering the best smile he could muster on his face as he stepped up beside him. Greg gave him an encouraging pat on the shoulder as he noticed the slight grin didn't come close to Spike's usual smile and the two of them entered the briefing room and took their seats.
Greg sat down at the head of the table where he usually sat. To his right was Donna Sabine who had run the team through the shoot house as well as their team and individual drills during the requalification.
"Hey, Spike," she smiled up at him as he took the seat between her and Jules. Wordy and Sam sat opposite their teammates with one chair empty to Parker's left.
"Okay, everybody," Greg got the meeting started as he dropped his binder down on the table in front of him. "First off, team and individual drill scores from Sunday's requalify – outstanding!" he smiled and gave them all a nod. "Team One still reigns supreme!" he exulted as he and Donna shared a smile.
Donna gave a conciliatory nod of her head as well. "Yep, you guys are still the best," she told them with a smile. She was a little surprised at the lack of enthusiasm as they all smiled politely back at her.
"Boy, you guys are tough crowd," joked Donna. She looked questioningly at Parker.
He smiled wryly at her and explained, "They're probably just waiting for the other shoe to drop." The smile faded and he looked at each of his team members in all seriousness.
"I'll be meeting with each of you individually to discuss your psych evaluations." He sighed as he tried to think of how to explain the why behind the how of those evaluations. If nothing else, he felt he owed them that.
"By now, you all know that I was the one to request an outside psychologist," he said. "I thought we needed an independent third party who could maintain objectivity. But, I didn't know it was going to be Toth," he continued a bit sadly, "and, believe me, I had no idea he was going to question you all the way he did." He paused to let that sink in before continuing.
"Commander Holleran, Dr. Toth and I have discussed the concerns that were raised during the evals and, as you've probably already guessed, there will be some adjustments made," he advised them.
While the mood in the room hadn't been exactly jovial to begin with, it was downright somber now. The four junior members of Team One sat staring either straight ahead, out the window or down that their hands. No one looked at anyone else and they all seemed to be recalling their own turns with the good Dr. Toth.
"That said," continued Greg, "with Ed out of commission for the foreseeable future, Donna will be taking his place as Acting Tactical Team Lead." All four heads shot up in unison to look with some surprise between their boss and Donna.
Greg raised his hands to placate them before the protests started. "Let me explain," he entreated. "With Ed out as well as the other adjustments we're all going to need to make, Commander Holleran and I thought it would be best to keep the big changes to a minimum. We've all formed a cohesive unit here and rather than disrupt that further by running recruitment trials and bringing in someone completely new, it was decided to bring Donna back temporarily, just until Ed comes back," he assured them.
"What if Ed doesn't come back?" asked Jules quietly. She had known about Sophie's ultimatum longer than any of the others, except Greg and she knew what she would have to do in his situation.
Greg sighed. He had hoped he wouldn't have to go there with the team just yet, but he should have known they would bring it up. They were a perceptive bunch that cared about each other like family. "If that happens, then we'll run recruitment trials and go from there. But, for now at least, we're going to take it one step at a time. This team is too good; we're not going to go out of our way to mess it up.
"Donna has worked with all of us before, with the exception of Jules, and it worked out pretty well," he continued. "Donna's learned a lot on Team Three and she's worked closely with Ed recently on upgrading her tactical skills, so she knows how he thinks almost as well as any us. So, what to you say we give her a chance, huh?"
Donna had been sitting quietly throughout this exchange. When Greg paused for a long moment, she took the opportunity to speak.
"Look guys, we've done this dance before," she smiled disarmingly at them all. "This is only temporary for me. I've already got a spot on Team Three that I will be more than happy to get back to, not that I don't like working with all of you," she quickly interjected.
"The point is, I don't want to take anyone else's place on this team," she continued. "You guys are the best because you've been together for so long, you all know how each one of you is going to react. I don't want to break that up any more than you do." She waited until the other four nodded their acknowledgement before turning and nodded to Greg herself.
"Okay, now that that's settled, on to more immediate business," Greg tried to refocus the group. "We are still off active rotation for today. We go back on active duty tomorrow, which means today we get to do the not so fun stuff," he was quickly cut off by Sam.
"You mean the requalify and the last few days were supposed to be fun?" he asked sarcastically. "You should have mentioned that beforehand."
Greg gave him a slightly exasperated look before continuing. "Like I said, the not so fun stuff, like cleaning, inventorying and restocking the supply locker. Let's start with that, okay?" he nodded as the four junior officers groaned.
Donna stood up and clapped her hands. "Come one, guys!" she said. "At least you didn't have to do it last month after Team Four got their chow hooks all over everything. It's not that bad this time."
"Spike," Greg nodded to the young bomb technician, "stick around. We'll go over your psych eval," he said. He noticed Spike looked a little fearful as he nodded reluctantly.
"Donna, would you mind closing the door when you leave, please?" Greg asked the young woman who nodded once and went to stand by the door.
Wordy, Sam and Jules all stood up and moved slowly toward the door. Donna joined them, punching the button that would close the metal door, as they made their way as a group to the supply locker.
With the others gone and the door closed, Greg motioned Spike closer and the young man moved to take the seat vacated by their new acting team leader. He hunched forward apprehensively, leaning on his elbows and looking down at his hands. Spike was fairly confident he had blown the psych eval between his admitted guilt regarding Lew's death and the ongoing feud with his father.
"Hey, Spike," Greg called to him softly, "How're you really doing, buddy?" he asked. All he got in response was a shrug. The young man didn't speak or even look up.
"How's your father?" asked Greg. Again a simple shrug.
"He's coming home today," Spike answered quietly and hazarded a glance at his boss, not surprised that Sarge seemed genuinely interested. He sat back with a sigh and tried to relax.
"That's good to hear," Greg said. "Did you ever get a chance to talk to him, try to work things out?" he asked.
Spike just chuckled mirthlessly, shaking his head. "I went to see him in the hospital yesterday," he explained. He looked at his boss. "It didn't go so well," he admitted. He looked down at his hands in his lap. He had begun scratching at his left palm again. After a long moment, he spoke again, his voice soft and plaintive, "He won't even look at me anymore, boss!"
Greg looked out the window for a moment, his heart breaking for the young man. Sighing, he gave Spike's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Ah, Spike," he whispered, "I'm sorry."
He let his friend grieve in silence for a few minutes before giving his shoulder another squeeze. "Do you need some time off?" asked Greg. "Maybe if you're home when he gets there, at least it's another chance," he suggested.
Spike shook his head. "I don't know, boss," he said. "I just don't know how much more I can take." He looked out the window at downtown Toronto in the distance.
"You know, boss," he said, "before that psych eval, I had no problem whatsoever separating work and home. No problem at all." He looked over at Parker. "And, as long as I could do that I was fine. I could deal," he said.
Looking back out the window he continued, "Now, I don't even know what I'm doing. I feel like I'm coming apart, you know," he explained, shaking his head. "I don't know what to do," he admitted.
"Why don't you take the afternoon off, Spike," said Greg. "Give it one more try with your father. If it doesn't work out, at least you know you tried your best." He squeezed Spike's shoulder one last time before leaning in close.
"And, Spike," he waited until the young man was looking him in the eyes, "if you need anything, someone to listen, a shoulder to lean on, or even a couch to crash on, anything at all, you call me, understand?" When Spike nodded, he checked his watch, stood and grabbed his binder.
"No offense, boss," replied Spike, "but, if I'm going to crash anywhere, it'll probably be with Bridget." He flashed a slight smirk. "She's better looking than you, no offense," he said.
They shared a quiet chuckle as they left the briefing room. Greg was glad to see at least a little bit of humor in his friend's eyes. He asked Spike to send Sam up to one of the smaller meeting rooms and made his way to it to get ready for his next meeting.
A/N: Well that's it for now. As always, please let me know what you think. Hopefully, I'll have the next chapter done by the end of the week! Thanks and don't forget to review! - Psy