Alphabet Injuries

by missblueeyes63

Dr. Fraser said to Sam "It's a hairline fracture of the Zygomatic bone. You will …." Sam interrupted "Ah crap, I'm done. That's it! No more!" Ed asked "What do you mean no more?" Sam sighed heavily "A to Z, I've hit them all now. No more letters for injuries." - Pure Sam whump, 26 ways Sam is injured/ill/hurt. Z & A (chaps 1 & 2) are one story but B to Y are individual stories.

21. Turbo Twins, Tale of Two Troubled Souls,

Turbo Twins, Tale of Two Troubled Souls, Tanks & Thieves

---

Braddock Family Home – Bottom of Stairs

Tumbling, ass over teakettle Sam fell down the stairs. It was no graceful, controlled tumble. No it was awkward, ugly and all his training on how to manage a fall flew out the window as his arms flailed in front of him.

With a final thud at the bottom of the stairs Sam lay winded staring up at his ceiling. His hand reached up to touch the tender spot just above his temple. He thought at least I didn't knock myself out on the way down. That would have been terrible.

Sam glanced at the top of the stairs. The twins were staring wide eyed at him. Their twin blue eyes stared so innocently at him. As if to say, how'd you get down there daddy?

As he sat up he realized he had bitten his tongue on his graceless tumble down the stairs. He tasted the sickly copperiness of blood. Sam thought well if that is the worst that happened he was damned lucky and thankful too.

Another glance up the stairs at his twin sons at the top of the stairs behind the safety gate had him thankful for a few other things too. First and foremost was that he had not been carrying either of them when he took his tumble. Second and almost as high on his list was that the twin engine turbo screaming had ceased.

Sam took some time to gather himself, the boys were safe for a moment. The turbo twins as he lovingly nicknamed his boys were three years and three months old now. Everyone said the terrible twos would turn into the terrific threes. He was still waiting for that.

They were so different from Sadie. Sadie had been a sweetheart and so easy at two and three. She did not scream and tear around the house. Sam chuckled, probably the difference between boys and girls or maybe the blessing his dad bestowed on him telling him that he 'hoped Sam had a son just like him' got doubled. His dad said he was a terror at two and three and kept them on their toes.

Or maybe it was just a twin thing. They had a ready-made partner in crime and prompter for mischief and screaming. When one started it didn't take long for the other to join in.

Those two little boys were like a friggin class five tornado. Sam wasn't quite sure how Jules handled them on her own. He was hard pressed to do it most days. Wore him out and made him feel every single one of his years.

Maybe it was that they saw him as an easy target. Their big blue eyes always held a note of wide eyed innocence. They got away with murder when they were with him. It was his own damned fault he was sitting at the bottom of the stairs.

If he had just insisted they put their Tonka trucks away before nap time he would not have gone ass over teakettle down the stairs. The thunderstorm didn't help matters either. He could blame Mother Nature for a part of his tumble.

The loud thunderclaps had woken them up from their nap. They were terrified of thunderstorms; Sam didn't much like thunderstorms either for good reason. Sounded too much like bombs going off. After an extremely loud thundering the twin engine turbo screaming had startled him and he raced from his bedroom to theirs to comfort and reassure them.

Unfortunately, the three had met in the hallway near the stairs. They were running to him and he was running to them. He had been moving so fast that he had to side step so he would not tackle them. That's when his foot landed on the Tonka truck.

It sent him careening over the safety gate at the top of the stairs. One magnificantly awkward tumble later he was laying here at the bottom of the stairs.

"Daddy okay?" the turbo twins asked in unison.

Sam called up to his boys as he started to get up "Yeah Daddy is okay."

Donny ran away from the gate and then was back before Sam took two steps up. He held up the Tonka truck to show him and with a little sad voice said "Tarry daddy."

Not to be outdone Jimmy let a tear drop and said "Tarry too daddy."

Getting to the top Sam opened the gate and then closed it behind him. He sat down on the floor and both boys clamored into his lap. Sam smiled as he cuddled his boys, one arm solidly and securely around each of them.

Sam wasn't sure if they were saying 'sorry' or 'scary' right now. His boys had trouble pronouncing their S's when they were at the beginning of a word and they always sounded like T's. But right now it didn't really matter which.

He held them close to him, met the eyes of each one and smiled tenderly. "It's okay boys. Daddy should have been paying more attention. You two okay?" Sam said in the soft calm voice he used with his children.

Sometimes the voice he used reminded him of Wordy. Heck it was probably because he modeled the voice after Wordy. He had learned a thing or two from Wordy about being a father. One was that tone of voice often went further than the words spoken. Sam knew that to be true being the recipient of Wordy's tone several times when he was scared, upset or hurt.

Thunder rolled again and the boys began to whimper. Sam rocked them a bit as he said "Sounds like Uncle Matt is playing with his toy tanks again in the clouds. I think he is winning. What do you boys think?"

The boys giggled and Jimmy said "Auntie Tara is winning."

Sam smiled. It felt good that his sons embraced thoughts of Sara and Matt. Many a bedtime story involved Sara and Matt. The boy's favorite was one lately was loosely based on a real life adventure he and Matt had in basic training when they learned to drive tanks.

They had overheard Jeff telling the story to Ed and Spike at their birthday party. Thankfully Jeff was aware of little ears around him and told a very sanitized version of it.

The real story was full of details not suitable for little boys but the essence of the story was still there. And the way Jeff told the story it was damned funny even if it made him look like an idiot. It made Sam remember Matt fondly too.

Sam had been shocked to find out that Jeff knew about the tank escapade. Sam had sometimes wondered how the hell he and Matt had gotten away with it. It wasn't until he and Jules were in the hospital in Medicine Hat and Jeff visited them that he found out just how they had gotten away with it. It also explained why Nealy had such a grudge against him.

He pulled his mind back to the boys and asked "Why do you think Aunt Sara is winning?"

Donny said "Cause it is toe loud. You taid that Auntie Tara would always yell loud when you two played tanks."

Jimmy added "Tides you taid Uncle Matt crashes his tanks."

"Tell us the tory again daddy. The tank tory" Donny begged with bright eyes.

Standing up still holding the boys Sam headed for their bedroom. He replied "Okay. But you have to promise to nap. Otherwise we can't go to Charlie's Toy Shoppe and play."

Sam had planned to take the boys to the toy store after their nap for two reasons. One was with the thunderstorm there was no way he could take them to the park to burn off their energy. Charlie's Toy Shoppe was the next best place. The three of them loved to go there. Jules said he was just a big kid himself and teased him about playing with all the toys with the boys.

But he just smiled when she teased. It was true. He was just a big kid and he got a thrill out of behaving like a five year old and playing with all the cool toys boys had these days. He loved the toy store because the owner was a big kid himself and would often join him and the boys.

The owner, Charlie Thompson, was a proponent of having sample toys out for the kids to play with and encouraged everyone to play with them. Charlie said that parents shouldn't waste money on toys kids would be bored with after a few minutes. The owner behaved like an indulgent grandpa. It was because Charlie loved to see the innocent joy on kid's faces they played with the toys.

Charlie carried some electronic toys but mostly liked to offer toys that sparked children's imaginations. He had a huge section of Army toys too. Donny and Jimmy loved playing with the tanks in that section. Charlie carried some really big ones that made booming sounds. That was probably why the twins were so stuck on the tank story the past three months.

Papa Greg, as the turbo twins called the Boss, was the second reason they were going. The Boss had been away at the Tucson Police Academy. He was giving a series of guest lectures on negotiation theory and tactics and he missed the boys third birthday.

The Boss planned to meet them there and spoil the twins a bit because he missed their party. Sam had kept the part about meeting Papa Greg as a surprise for the boys.

---

Braddock Family Home – Twin's Bedroom

As Sam set the twins down on their beds Donny asked "Is Tadie gonna get to go to the toy tore too?"

Pulling up the chair between their beds as the boys settled in and covered up Sam answered "No the IMPS are staying overnight at Uncle Ed's today. So it's just us guys today while Mommy is at work."

"Tadie is gonna miss out. Will Charlie play with us too?" Jimmy said as clutched is favorite blanket and pulled it close to his face.

Sitting down in the comfortable chair Sam said "He might. You boys ready for your story?" They both nodded.

Sam got into story mode as he said "A long time ago there were two best friends. They were such good friends they were more like brothers. They had a tighter bond than some blood brothers."

Donny interrupted "Not tighter than me and Jimmy."

Sam grinned "Just like you two. They could have been twins if they didn't have different parents."

The boys giggled and Jimmy said "But Uncle Matt doesn't look like you like Donny does me. How could he be your twin?"

Donny said "Uncle Tott is daddy's twin. They look alike like you and me but they are not brothers. Daddy is Uncle Matt your frabternal twin?"

"You mean fraternal twin. Yeah I guess we are more like that. But do you guys want me to tell the story or not? Cause if you want to keep interrupting I won't have time to tell you and then we won't be able to go to the toy store" Sam stated. The boys would hammer him with interruptions and questions throughout and not settle down for a nap if he didn't stop them at the beginning.

Both boys made a zipping motion with their fingers across their lips.

Sam began again "Where was I? Oh right. They had a bond tighter than some blood brothers. Both of them joined the Army. They met in boot camp and had a lot of fun together. They did everything together. They were partners in pranks and helped each other learn new things. One of the new things was how to drive tanks."

He continued the sanitized version of how he and Matt met and ended up crashing a tank. He only got a third of the way through it before both boys were sound asleep. He pulled a heavier cover over each of them and then sat back down to just watch his twins sleep.

They were so innocent. The real version would not be something he would tell them until maybe they were adults. But even then the darker parts would only ever be between him and Matt.

Sam settled back in his chair as his mind went back to the true version of how he and Matt first met.

---

First Day of Army Boot Camp – Barracks 0400 (4:00 am)

Sam stood at attention at the end of his bunk, just like the rest of the new recruits waiting for their first inspection. Today was the first day of boot camp. They had all arrived yesterday afternoon and been processed in, assigned their barracks and left to meet their unit mates last night. This morning they would meet their drill Sergeant and begin training.

He was ready for this. He had trained like he was in boot camp most of his life. Nothing they would throw at him would shock him; unlike some of his unit mates.

Sam already assessed several of them as potential wash outs. They would not be able to hack the physical training or have the mental discipline necessary to make it in the military. His first pick to wash out was a loud, dumb and fat guy named Hunter. Last night the bets were flying that the guy ditches out in a week.

Hunter was directly across from him. His shirt was untucked, his boot untied, his bed was sloppily made and his locker was a mess with clothes shoved in it. Sam knew the guy was going to get reamed for that.

By contrast every last detail of himself was military precision right down to the double tied knots on his boots so they would not come undone at an inopportune time. His bed you could bounce a quarter off of with crisp squared corners. His locker was squared away with all clothes perfectly folded.

Sam slowed his heartrate with sniper breathing as the door opened. It was show time for the Sergeant. This first meeting would make or break many of the guys in this room. As he squared his shoulders and lifted his chin he saw Hunter standing almost nonchalantly. Man that guy was a total mess.

Sergeant David Thompson entered the barracks ready to tear down his new group of recruits. Tear them down and then build them back up into military men. The easy life they had known was over.

He was considered the most hard-nosed drill instructor on the base, even harder than Jeff Braddock. He prided himself on breaking the men in the first week. Find their weakness and exploit it to see their true mettle and strengths.

Once broken, the unit, those that survived the tearing down, would bond, He would use that to build up strong, capable, battle ready soldiers that knew how to work as a team. Last night Thompson read the files on all his recruits and watched them covertly as they interacted in the barracks last night. There were four he was going to really push.

Three he would push hard because on paper or from his observation last night it didn't look like they had what it would take to be a good soldier. He needed to weed them out if that was the truth.

One was Corne. He scored well on aptitude test but seemed too timid. Cautious behavior was one thing but a soldier that was too timid could end up freezing in the field and getting others killed.

The second was Hunter. He scored extremely high on the tests but he was also extremely overweight and acted like a Gomer Pyle, loud and dumb. He heard the recruits betting Hunter would be the first to go. Would be interesting to see what he was truly made of.

Roid was third on his list and he didn't seem to be a good fit for the military. Strung out junkie is what came to mind when he saw him. His aptitude tests were also very low and he had no social skills. He had sat alone in a corner all night never engaging with the others.

The fourth was one man he was looking forward to see what he was made of. Was he anything like his father, uncles and cousins? Could he hack the pressure that came with being the son of a high ranking officer?

Thompson hoped so. He hoped Samuel Braddock was of the same caliber as all the other Braddock men he knew.

It was interesting to watch him last night. Braddock had interacted a little with the others but was mostly quiet with an ingrained aura of self-confidence that came off as cocky.

He watched the other's reaction to Braddock closely. He heard some recruits whispering conjectures wondering if Braddock was related to the General or the Major. The Sergeant knew from personal experience that kind of pressure could make or break the child of a high ranking officer. It was better to find out if they had the strength to deal with that garbage in boot camp than to let it fester.

The Sergeant wondered why Braddock had chosen to enlist as a Private instead of going to college first and then enlisting as an officer. Braddock's aptitude tests were off the charts. The fact he had graduated from the Police Academy just after his eighteenth birthday was interesting too. Thompson wondered if going into the police force was an act of rebellion and if Braddock finally caved to family pressure to join the military.

Putting these thoughts aside Sergeant Thompson addressed the men and gave them his usual welcome speech. Something along the lines of you are gonna crawl and cry like babies for your mommas and then walk proudly like soldiers by the time I'm done with you. As he gave his speech he walked up and down the center aisle taking stock of the men; boys really.

Thompson stopped in front of Hunter. Exactly the mess he expected. Thompson got in his face and using his best drill instructor voice bellowed "Hunter didn't your daddy teach you how to tie your laces and your momma to fold your clothes?"

Sam saw hatred flare in Hunter's eyes as he responded "No they did not."

Thompson was taken back by the answer. The recruit had the balls to actually answer a question that wasn't meant to be answered. He bellowed "Probably because you were too dumb to learn."

Hunter retorted "No because my father was a drunken asshole and my beloved mother was dead." Matt cringed inside. He had been baited right off the bat dammit. He needed to learn to keep his mouth shut.

Thompson was again stunned but sternly said "Well then, we will see if you have the brains to actually learn won't we."

He turned and sought out his next target as Thompson thought perhaps he had been wrong about Hunter. He would ride him hard to see. Perhaps the young man only needed guidance and a direction in his life like a lot of his recruits needed.

After dressing down Corne and Roid and determining to be hard them hard too, thinking there might be potential there if guided properly, he located his next target. He stood in front of Braddock and was thoroughly impressed with what he saw. Hell he was squared away better than some of his best graduates and this was only his first day. But that was the surface. Thompson needed to see the underbelly.

So his tactic was to poke where he knew it would hurt the worst to set the stage to see what he was made of. "Braddock. You wouldn't happen to be related to Major Mark Braddock or General William Braddock would you?"

Sam knew this was coming and hated it. Last night he had avoided anyone making the connection that he was related to the General. Sam had thought that there might be friendships to forge here. But no. The Sergeant had to go and out him on the first damned day.

Now there would be no opportunity to make friendships based on just who he was. Some would resent him for his connection outright with no justification. Some would brown-nose and suck up to him thinking they could get special treatment.

Sam almost laughed at that thought. Those guys would be surprised to learn that there was no way in hell he would ever get special treatment from the General. The General expected more from him than any other soldier.

Firmly Sam answered "Yes Sergeant." He knew better than to answer Sir like the two previous recruits had.

Thompson grinned "So which one is your daddy?"

"General Braddock" Sam answered in the same firm tone without hesitation or any outward sign that it bothered him.

"So your daddy is the General. Interesting. I hope you are not expecting any special privileges because of who your daddy is?" Thompson thrusted again, he was putting the seed in Braddock's unit members minds. See how Braddock deals with the shit that will come his way from this. Can he handle the pressure or will he fold like a thin towel?

Again Sam answered quickly "No Sergeant."

"Good because in my unit you have to EARN the right to graduate. Just because daddy dear is the General of Special Forces you don't get to skate. But seeing how you know how to square away your gear properly I am holding you responsible to make sure Corne, Roid and Hunter have their gear squared just like yours by tomorrow morning. That is if they have not sissied out and are still here by then. If they are here and they are not squared away then the whole unit will receive a punishment. Am I clear?" Thompson threw out.

"Yes Sergeant" Sam said as internally he cringed. Hunter was a friggin mess. Roid was an ass that looked like he was strung out on drugs. Corne just looked confused and afraid of his own shadow. What the hell was he gonna do if they were not squared away. The unit would hate him.

It was extra pressure he didn't need. He knew the General would be watching his every move. If he was not the best at everything there would be hell to pay. The General expected him to be the perfect soldier. Now he had to do that AND drag along three others. Crap.

---

First Day of Army Boot Camp – Barracks 2400 (12:00 am)

Sam and the rest of the unit trudged back into their barracks. They had been on the go for twenty hours today. All he wanted to do was fall into bed and sleep. He was fit but this was kicking his ass. He hurt all over, even his teeth hurt.

He checked to see if any felt loose still. Thankfully no. His teeth hurt because of Roid. The Sergeant had taken to calling him Hemorrhoid and Sam couldn't agree more. The guy was a royal pain in the ass or more correctly teeth and toes.

Hemorrhoid had not listened to the Sergeant's explanation. When Hemorrhoid lost his grip on the wall he kicked him in the mouth on his way down. Sam almost lost his grip as a result of the kick, it had hurt like hell and he barely hung on by the thinnest thread.

Later in the day again Hemorrhoid did not listen and ended up treading on his toes. It almost seemed on purpose. Sam thought two might actually be broken they hurt so much.

He had also seen Hemorrhoid trip Hunter on their twelve mile run. It happened three times because Hemorrhoid was not watching where he was going as the Sergeant yelled at him. It sent Hunter sprawling in the dirt each time.

Sam was surprised at how Hunter laughed it off as his own error. It was almost like Hunter was afraid of what the Sergeant would do to Roid if he told him it was Roid's fault. Sam also saw the anger flare in Hunter's eyes every time the Sergeant came down hard on any of them unjustly.

It was subtle and he was sure most did not see it. To Sam it looked like Hunter used his loud, dumb persona as a mask or shield. What he saw in only one day was not a man that was dumb in any way shape or form. He was whip smart and Sam was sure that Hunter's true nature was a quiet one.

Sam knew all about shields and masks. His cocky bravado covered his own true self.

Matt flopped onto his bed. He was sure he was gonna die. He was so out of shape. The last year before he joined the military he had finally had a job with enough money that he could eat regularly. Matt had over indulged because it was something so foreign to him to be able to eat every day and as a result he had gotten really fat. It didn't help that his job required him to sit at a desk all damned day.

When Matt was fired from the good paying job for yelling at his boss because the man slapped his wife, Matt decided it was time to go after his childhood dream. He would never know if he could make it to Special Forces if he did not at least try.

Matt also figured even if he didn't make it he would get three square meals a day and roof over his head. He didn't ever want to go back to having to eat every two or three days and living on the street.

Glancing quickly over at Braddock, Matt saw the guy testing his teeth; must be from when Roid's boot whacked him in the mouth. How Braddock hung on when that happened Matt couldn't figure out. A hit like that would have sent him crashing to the ground along with Roid. Might have even squished Roid a bit which would have been fair.

Matt thought god that kid was fit. Braddock blew everyone away out there today. Faster, stronger, better and he seemed to know what the fuck he was doing. Braddock never once slipped up and called the Sergeant Sir like everyone else had.

The speed at which Braddock went up that rope climb was downright insane. He also ran like and breathed like he was out for a damned twilight stroll. Matt heard the grumblings of the others. Many were already making him the target or planning on cozying up to him because of his abilities or his family connections. Some idiots even thought that Braddock would get special privileges even after the Sergeant clearly told them all this morning that you graduated only if you earned it.

Matt could see Braddock was pissed at Roid. Part of him was too. But he could see something in Roid the others couldn't. He could see the abused child who was always told he was not good enough. It looked like Roid had fallen into drugs to cope.

Perhaps the Army would be his salvation. It was a very thin line that he walked himself. Drugs had tempted him once too. They could have been a way to escape the pain. But his music had stopped him from going down that dark path. His music was his therapy and helped him cope and find a way to keep looking for the beauty of life.

One day Matt knew he would find it. He just had to keep hope alive. Perhaps he would find the beauty of life in the Army or maybe just a friend. A friend would be nice. He'd never had a real friend before. He never had someone care about the real person behind the shield he wore. Never had someone he could take care of and who needed him.

Matt stared at the ceiling and sighed, yeah having a friend would be nice.

Sam pushed himself off his bunk. He was not done tonight. He still had Roid, Corne and Hunter to square away. Sam limped over to Hunter's bunk.

"Name's Sam" he stuck out his hand to Hunter who was lying on his bunk staring at the ceiling.

Matt sat up slowly. He hurt all over "Matthew, but people call me Matt." He shook Sam's hand.

Sam took a deep breath and released it slowly looking at the locker "So we need to get your locker squared away."

Looking at the mess in his locker and then at Sam's perfect locker Matt laughed "Yeah right. Never had much more than a bag to shove my stuff into."

Matt stopped. Hell he never shared anything about himself with anyone. Why did that slip out? And why to Mister perfect soldier with General daddy. Sam probably had a loving mother and father that doted on him.

Braddock probably had parents that made sure he was shielded from the horrors of life, fed regularly, tucked in and kissed goodnight and who taught him everything he needed to know to succeed. Matt thought that Sam could not imagine a father that hated his son so much he beat the crap out of him, wished he had never been born and that he was dead.

It was weird but Sam was not surprised somehow to hear Matt's comment. Sounded like he was shuttled around a lot like a foster kid. In a way it supported his earlier thought that Hunter was someone entirely different than what he showed to others.

Sam wasn't sure why but he responded honestly and shared a bit of his true self "Well I've been inspected every morning of my life and have paid a heavy price for not having my shit squared away. Kinda gets to be a habit after a while."

Matt wasn't sure what to make of that statement. But it sounded honest and then Braddock's eyes flashed with something like surprise that he said it. Interesting Matt thought.

Over the course of the next half hour Sam showed him how to fold everything, even his socks in military precision. He explained how to organize things in his locker for fast access in the morning so there was no wasted motions. Hell Sam even told him why he should double knot his boots. Sam had him make and remake his bed five times before he got it right. It was surprisingly easy and quick once you knew how to do it.

The patience Sam showed towards him was remarkable Matt thought. By the end of the thirty minutes the cockiness he had seen all day was gone and there was a sincere young man in his place. One willing to share what he knew to help a complete stranger.

Matt watched as Sam then proceeded to do the same exact thing for both Corne and Roid. Corne was receptive to Sam's teachings. Roid resisted every overture of help then laid down and promptly went to sleep. He watched as Sam squared away Roid's locker as the man slept.

As he lay watching, Matt heard a few of the unit members who were still awake making snide remarks about how anal Braddock was and that they didn't need to fold their socks in that manner. That Braddock was just being a brown-noser and kissing up to the Sergeant by doing Roid's locker for him.

Matt sighed. Some of these guys were so dense. They could not see that Sam was taking the Sergeant seriously that the whole unit would be punished if the three of them were not squared away by the morning. Matt fell asleep wondering if Sam had shields he hid behind too.

Sam finished up with Roid's locker, headed for his bunk and dropped down totally exhausted. It was now 0130 and that meant only a few hours of sleep before it all began again. Sam glanced over at Hunter, he was sure Hunter was not what he portrayed to others. As his eyes slid shut Sam wondered could he possibly have a friend in Matt?

---

SRU HQ – Briefing Room

Jules decided to call Sam and see how he and the twins were doing today. Sam had worked overtime with Team Three yesterday and gotten home later than usual. She had helped make today easier for him by pre-making the boys lunches and setting out bowls and cereal for Sam to pour out for the boy's breakfast. He could do that half asleep and the boys would be kept quiet and safe for an hour watching cartoons while Sam consumed massive amounts of caffeine.

She had also started dinner in the crockpot and taken Sadie to Sophie's house on the way in today. Sadie was jazzed about the sleep over with Izzy, Mona and Paisley and had talked her ear off on the way over even though it was only four-forty-five am. Sadie was a morning girl just like her. Luckily the boys were late sleepers. That would also help Sam get a bit more rest before having to be on guard duty as they often joked.

The twins should be down for a nap right now so it was safe to call Sam. The turbo twin tornados as Sam sometimes called them were quite a handful even for her. It was like having to little Sam's running around the General had told her when they visited for the boy's birthday.

Now not only did they have urgent care on speed dial for Sam they had racked up an impressive number of visits for the boys too. They loved to climb more than she and Sam put together. The mischief they got into left both of them thunderstruck sometimes. Jules often wondered if they would survive toddlerhood.

She pulled out her phone and dialed. She began to worry when it went to the fifth ring but then Sam answered.

["Hey Jules" Sam said coming out of his memory.]

"Hey Sam. Everything okay?" Jules asked hearing the faraway tone in Sam's voice.

["Uh yeah. Why?" Sam asked.]

Swiveling in the chair Jules said "You just sound a bit faraway."

["Well I was just thinking of how Matt and I met to be honest" Sam responded.]

Jules smiled "The tank story again. Geez those boys never seem to tire of that one. So how's it going? Have to dial urgent care today?"

[Sam chuckled "Almost. The boys are gonna be picking up their Tonka trucks before nap time from now on." Sam went on to relate his tumble down the stairs. Then he said "The Boss called."]

"Really? What did he want?" Jules asked as she finished shaking her head at Sam's story. He was lucky he didn't break his neck falling down the stairs.

["He is getting back earlier than expected. He's still planning on joining us for dinner but he is gonna meet me and the boys at the toys store. Sarge wants them to pick out their birthday presents" Sam said as he eased out of the boys room to go grab a drink from the kitchen.]

"Can you stir the crockpot for me?" Jules asked.

["Sure already did earlier but I can do it again. Need me to pick anything up from the grocery store on my way home from the toy store or do we have everything we need for dinner tonight?" Sam responded.]

Laughing Jules said "You haven't offered to go to the grocery store since the Siamese schnauzers incident. What gives now?"

[Shuddering as he recalled the incident Sam teased "Thanks for reminding me Jules. I had totally forgotten all about it. Not gonna go now. Sorry you'll have to go if we need anything."]

Jules rolled her eyes and swung all the way around in the chair. Sam was in rare form today. She loved bantering with him. Hearing Sam stir the crockpot and sample the contents hearing him blowing and then slurping. Jules sat up and said seriously "Sam don't you dare add any more jalapenos to the Spanish pot roast."

["Ah Jules it's so bland" Sam complained.]

"Sam." Jules stated.

[Grabbing a small can of jalapenos from the cabinet and looking for the opener in the drawers Sam said "Just one small can."]

"Sam. No" she stated again more forcefully.

["Why not?" Sam groused not finding the can opener and putting the jalapenos back.]

Jules looked to Spike as he entered the briefing room. She could tell he needed to talk to her. She raised one finger indicating to give her one minute.

To Sam she said "Some of us don't want a three alarm fire in our mouths. Marina doesn't like spicy foods. At least not as spicy as you like and she is our guest tonight. Save the jalapenos and you and the Boss can add them to your portions separately tonight. I gotta go. Have fun at the toy store. Kiss the boys for me. Love ya."

["Copy. Love you to sweetheart. Keep the peace" Sam said and hung up.]

Spike grinned "Sam surviving?"

Jules said "Mostly. What ya need?"

"Ed wanted me to tell you the warrant for Tyson will not be issued. Seems he had a little accident and ended up dead" Spike informed Jules.

Her eyebrows arching Jules asked "Little accident?"

"Seems he was trying to outrun a train and his truck stalled on the train tracks at just the wrong moment. The westbound freight train ploughed right into him" Spike told her.

"Wow. Talk about bad timing. Anyone hurt on the train?" Jules asked.

Spike shook his head no then shrugged slightly as he said "At least it saves the taxpayers a long trial. There was no doubt about his guilt with all the video evidence and the three eyewitnesses to the murder of that teenage girl."

Jules slightly admonished him "Innocent until proven guilty Spike. Our job is not to judge."

Spike laughed "Alright Madam Team Leader." Then he set off running as Jules drew back her fist ready to punch his arm. At the entrance of the briefing room Spike skidded around behind Ed and said "Protect me."

Ed's eyebrow arched as he saw Jules striding out after Spike. He asked "So what did Spike do now?"

"Hey, why do you always think it is me?" Spike groused.

Ed and Jules spoke in unison "Cause it is always you."

Spike pouted "Hey, I resemble that remark."

The three laughed.

Ed asked "The turbo twin tornados behaving today? Any trips to the urgent care?"

Jules chuckled "Well Sam took a tumble down the stairs after stepping on one of their trucks. He's taking them to the toy store later to meet up with the Boss. Not much trouble they can get into in the toy store so I think we will be able to go another day without urgent care."

Spike shook his head "Jules, you do realize this is Sam and the turbo twin tornados we are talking about. Tootsie rolls and tinker toys can be lethal weapons with those three around."

Ed grinned "Spike has a point."

Jules just shook her head "Yeah I know. Believe me I know. I installed that gate to prevent falls down the stairs. So what does Sam do? He goes sailing over the darned thing. I tell you that man has the worst darned luck."

Spike offered "Good thing he is made tough like a Tonka truck."

Ed chuckled "I was thinking more like a Timex watch. Samo takes a licking and keeps on ticking."

The claxon alarms rang and Winnie called out "Team One Hot Call. Bank robbery in progress. First Canadian Bank."

Ed, Spike and Jules headed to gear up with the rest of Team One as Ed called out "Winnie do we have any details yet?"

Winnie answered "911 is reporting five men all wearing ski masks. Several shots fired. They are armed with handguns only from the reports of those that got out of the bank. Looks like the security guard was hit. EMS on way but will stand back until you give the go ahead."

---

Braddock Family Home – Living Room

Sam plopped onto the couch and stretched out. The clock said he had another hour and a half before he needed to meet up with the Boss. So that meant Donny and Jimmy could nap for another hour.

He relaxed on the couch and flicked on the TV. He flipped through channels trying to find some sport to watch. He landed on a station showing a monster truck rally.

Sam watched as the huge truck named Tank sped up the ramp and came crashing down the other side. Sam smiled. God some of his memories of shit he and Matt did were too funny. Often times they were a result of too much beer. Those first few years in the regular Army were full of adventures. They were damned lucky they didn't get caught for some of the stunts they pulled.

Crashing the tank in basic training was by far the stupidest thing they did and he still couldn't believe they got away with it. Well if it wasn't for Jeff they wouldn't have gotten away with that one. But he hadn't known that at the time.

Sam realized years ago after getting shot in the chest by Merrill that in reality he had more people in his corner silently helping him through the years than he could have ever imagined. Everyone from his parents, uncles, cousins, Bella, all his JTF2 buddies and now all his SRU teammates and family. He was a blessed man to have so many people care about him.

The roaring engines on the monster trucks caught his attention and he watched a moment. Then Sam closed his eyes to relax as the monster truck rally continued to play in the background. Sam thought it would be fun to take Donny and Jimmy to one of those truck rallies when they got a little older. He'd also take them out four-wheeling.

Maybe even see about teaching them to drive a tank. Maybe Jeff could get them on base for a tour of the tanks and the boys could crawl around a real one. The twins and even Sadie would be jazzed about doing something like that.

As he relaxed Sam's mind wandered and landed back on the tank escapade. He thought about the true, unvarnished story without the huge gaps of unsuitable content for little boys.

---

Four Months into Basic Training – Outside O'Malley's Bar

Sam and Matt staggered out of O'Malley's bar laughing about getting kicked out. They really should not have baited the locals. But it was too easy. The jerks thought they could relieve them of their pay. It wasn't their fault that they were so accurate at throwing darts. It was their fault however that they played several games like they couldn't hit the broad side of a barn to get the locals to bet with them. Then they started playing to their real skill level.

The locals didn't want to pay up when they lost. Matt and Sam weren't the ones that threw the first punches. But they sure threw the last ones. The locals were now picking themselves up off the ground and nursing sore jaws among other bruised and tender spots.

O'Malley's bouncers had come along with bar bats and urged Sam and Matt to leave without collecting their winnings. The bouncers tapped the bats in their hands as they said they would call the MPs after they taught them a lesson if they did not leave now. Sam and Matt obliged saying the locals could pay their beer tab. Which Sam thought was fair because it was about equal to what they won anyways.

Today was friends and family day for basic training recruits that made it to the third phase of training without washing out. Since neither of them had friends or family to visit them they snuck just off base for their first unofficial one day leave.

O'Malley's was the third bar they had been thrown out of tonight. They were going bar to bar in part due to the fact that as of today Sam was legal to drink and Matt said they had to celebrate. The other part was because Sam wanted to be numb today and getting shitfaced drunk helped him do that.

Sam had shared with Matt that he didn't celebrate his birthday and why. Matt was the first and only person he ever shared the pain he felt on his birthday. But it seemed natural to share with Matt.

Over the past four months they had become fast friends and confidants to each other. Where one was the other could be found. They watched each other's backs and helped each other deal with the crap that comes with basic training.

They had even teamed up to try and help Corne and Roid too. Corne was doing much better but Roid had ditched out by the third week. There was only so much they could do when Roid wasn't willing to even try to help himself.

When Sam shared the reason why he didn't celebrate Matt said in that case they would get shitfaced drunk together. Sam thought that Matt was turning out to be the best friend in the world. Matt didn't try and tell him that he should celebrate his birthday or not feel guilty or not to hurt over the loss of Sara. Matt simply fully supported his need to get shitfaced drunk.

Sam turned to Matt and slurred out "Where to now?"

Matt shrugged "This is your show Sammy. I'm along for the ride and to watch your back." Then he hiccupped.

Sam staggered a bit and ended up leaning against the wall for support. He flexed his fists and said "Still to fucking sober. I can still feel the pain."

Matt sighed. "Not gonna get into nother bar tonight. Won't serve us with how we look now" Matt said wiping at his split lip.

Pushing off the wall and almost losing his balance Sam suggested "Hows a bout we gets a bottle of Jack and wander over to the motor pool. Out back no offi, offsisfers will bug us."

Matt was not as drunk as he portrayed to Sam. He decided he wouldn't get that drunk tonight. Sam needed someone to take care of him today. It was shitty what he went through every year on his birthday.

To be blamed for his sister's death when it clearly was not his fault and he was only nine was downright despicable. Matt thought that the fact that Sam and his sister shared a birthday sucked. Every year on a day that should be celebrated it was a cruel reminder to what Sam lost.

Matt thought that for the General to tell Sam he was worthless, that he wished Sam had been the one to die instead of Sara and to be cast out of his home and away from all extended family at only nine for something that was clearly out of his control was just as bad as Matt's own childhood. The General was a fucking piece of work just like his murdering asshole of a father.

So much for thinking Sam had a set of loving parents that took care of him. The more they shared with each other over the past months the more they found that that were two troubled souls with terrible childhoods.

Matt vowed to himself that would help Sam silence his demons this night. If that meant sneaking off base to get knocked down, shitfaced drunk he was willing to do that. He had never had a friend before and Sam was a damned fine one. At every turn the past four months Sam helped him. It was time to return the favor tonight.

Throwing his arm around Sam's shoulder Matt guided Sam down the street "I know a liquor store. C'mon buddy."

The two of them staggered down the road singing "Ninety nine bottles of beer on the wall …"

---

Three Hours Later – Behind Motor Pool

Sam swallowed his latest swig of Tequila as he sat with his back up against the wall behind the motor pool. He looked at Matt and slurred out "You're the first person I trusted with this Matt. Hell you're the only person I actually truly trust."

"Uh uh" Matt said as he took a swig of Jack.

Sam's head listed to the side a bit as he looked at the tanks "Ya know we have to drive tanks tomorrow."

"Uh uh" Matt replied as he head bobbed. He hadn't meant to get shitfaced too but he did. His vocabulary was severely lacking right now.

"General wants a perfect soldier. Ever I tell you that?" Sam said as his bleary, blood shot eyes turned to Matt.

"Uh uh" Matt said nodding. His head bounced up and down and he found the sight of the jumbled lights funny and started laughing.

"What you laughing at?" Sam said testily.

"Uh uh" Matt replied.

Sam ignored him as the laughter stopped and said "Never drove one. Can't be the best at something never did."

"Uh uh" Matt answered.

"Can't you say anything other than uh uh?" Sam slurred as he stood up and teetered before he got his balance. Well almost balance as he reached out to catch himself on the wall.

Matt looked up and at Sam with blurry eyes as he came in and out of focus "Uh uh."

Sam snorted and uncoordinatedly waved the Tequila bottle at Matt "You're drunker than me and I've nearly drank my bottle of Tequila."

Matt grinned happily "Uh uh."

Pushing off the wall Sam said "I'm gonna learn how to drive the tank tonight."

Matt crawled a bit after Sam as he said "Uh uh." Matt caught Sam's pant leg and grabbed on. "Wait for me. I'll teach you."

Sam reached down and helped Matt up. Both nearly fell over. Sam tilted to one side hanging onto and staring at Matt when they both made it to their feet "Two sentences? You must be sobering up. You ever drive a tank?"

Taking a swig of Jack Matt shook his head but replied "Uh uh."

"Which is it?" Sam asked confused by the mixed answer.

"No drive. Yes sobering" Matt said as he swayed heavily to one side.

Sam pulled on Matt's arm keeping him upright but over balancing himself and falling down "How will you teach me if you never drove a tank?"

"Easy just sit in it and drive it" Matt slurred out slowly as he leaned down to help Sam up this time.

Laughing Sam took another swig of Tequila. As Matt got him to his feet the Tequila bottle fell out of his hands and crashed to the ground.

Sam stared at the shattered bottle and the Tequila soaking into the dirt. With an exaggerated sad face Sam said "Alius miles insipiens a morte moriatur."

Matt squinted his eyes "What?"

Sam looked at him "Too shitfaced to understand English? Some tank instructor you will be."

"Wasn't English" Matt slurred out in protest.

"Was so" Sam retorted.

"Was not" Matt shot back as he swayed on his feet.

"How you know? All you said for last hour is uh uh" Sam challenged mimicking Matt's voice with the uh uh then he hiccupped and saluted his shattered Tequila bottle with a solemn look.

Matt took another swig of Jack and handed the bottle to Sam. "Alls miles in sip a morter morter. Ain't English. You speakin' gibberish. Least uh uh is English" Matt stated as the world began to spin a little.

Sam laughed and was surprised he wasn't too drunk to realize he just spoke Latin. It slipped out at the damnedest times. He took a swig of Jack and handed it back to Matt "Alius miles insipiens a morte moriatur. Latin for another soldier dies a senseless death."

Matt looked at the smashed Tequila bottle "I'll drink to that" and then downed another swig. Then he slurred "Wait. Latin?"

"Statim damnatis. Et potest etiam ad maledicendum in sex linguarum" Sam said with a cocky tilt to his head and gave Matt a WOW smile.

Staggering back from Sam flabbergasted Matt put his hands out in front of him shaking them as he teetered unsteadily "Whoa, you a pretty boy an all. But not having sex with you. Like you but not like that."

Sam stared at Matt confused in his drunken fog "Who said anything bout sex? You're not my type. You got the wrong parts."

Matt pointed a finger at Sam "You!" Then Matt stammered out "You said shit dammit don't protest male dick in them sex something or other."

Sam chortled, staggered to Matt and swung his arm around Matt's shoulders "You got pretty jade green eyes. But that was Latin for damned straight. I can curse in six languages too."

Matt patted Sam's face in relief. Then he gave Sam a huge grin and chuckled "You got pretty blue eyes too. Gotta teach me how to curse in Latin."

"Gotta teach me to drive a tank first" Sam stated in a slurred matter of fact tone.

Matt nodded "Deal" then took a swig of Jack and offered Sam one too.

Sam took a drink and then pulled on Matt to head towards the tank closest to them weaving to and fro.

They climbed up it comically falling on their asses several times as they tried to get to the top. When they got up top they argued about how to unlock the hatch. Neither realized it was unlocked until Sam simply lifted it.

"Magic" Matt said in awe.

"Nah. Skill" Sam said cockily as he dropped inside the tank and sat in the driver's seat. Sam grinned up at Matt when he started it up.

Matt dropped into the command seat. He reached into his pocket and grabbed his ipod and tuned on some tunes. The first song that played was Fun, Fun, Fun, Fun by the Beach Boys.

Sam stared at Matt as the music blared "Turn that shit off."

Grinning Matt said "Gotta have driving tunes."

"That ain't tunes" Sam protested.

"Sure it is. All music is good Sammy boy. Need to expand your repertoire. There's more than just hard rock" Matt said and took a swig from the bottle. Then Matt shouted "Tally ho Braddock."

Knowing it was a losing battle to get Matt to turn off what he considered music and Sam considered torture he looked at the controls in front of him. He had no friggin clue what he was doing and how to use the monitors to see to steer. "Hey Mattie pop up and be my eyes" Sam slurred.

Matt handed off the bottle of Jack to Sam and stood up on the seat looking out "Forward."

Managing to get the tank into gear, not the right gear of course, Sam pushed on the gas pedal. They started going backwards at a fast clip.

"Whoa, so not forward dude" Matt said as he got nauseous and clamped a hand over his mouth. He turned around so he was facing the back of the tank. "Much better. Good thing you got us going forward" Matt said as the tank continued to go backwards.

Sam pushed the pedal down harder and they picked up speed "Can't see a damned thing. Left or right?"

"Left" Matt called out.

Turning the wheel to his left instead of Matt's left Sam unknowingly sped towards a row of tanks. "How I doin' Mattie?" Sam asked.

"Good but I said left" Matt said.

"I turned left" Sam declared.

"You turned right" Matt corrected.

"No left. I know my left from right. Not that drunk" Sam retorted then hiccupped.

"Uh uh" Matt said as he saw the tanks heading straight for them. Or was it them heading for the tanks. Whatever. Matt said "Right Sammy. We are being attacked by a platoon of tanks."

Sam took a swig of Jack and yanked the wheel to the right.

Matt called out directions left and right as Sam swerved all over the place going the opposite direction each time but Matt was not aware of it as he held on tightly for dear life. Somehow Sam managed to get the tank to the training course. But that was after running over a stop sign, through a chain link fence, over two sapling trees and spinning around in circles so fast that Matt threw up all over the outside of the tank.

Sam never did realize he was driving backwards as he careened up and down the man-made hills and gullies for training soldiers how to handle the tanks. With Matt's directions and Sam going the opposite direction each time they ended up in the mud pits.

Going at nearly thirty miles per hour backwards Sam drove through a huge mud puddle. The muddy water splashed up and into the tank soaking both of them.

Matt shouted as he wiped the mud from his eyes "Watch where you are going?"

"That's your job green eyes. Can't see for shit from in here. Whose fucking bright idea was it to build a tank that the driver can't see where the hell he is going?" Sam shouted back and took another swig of Jack as he yanked the steering wheel to the left again. He almost rolled the tank off of the incline which is tough to do in a tank.

Matt pounded on the tank unable to get the right words out as a dog ran into their path "Dog, dog, dog, dog."

"Quit calling me a dog" Sam slurred as he yanked the wheel left and barely missed the dog.

Relieved the dog wasn't hit and needing another drink Matt bent down and reached out a hand "You almost flatten a dog. Finally something you suck at. Better not go into the armored core."

Sam took exception to that "Don't suck. Damned good for first time. Like to see you do better."

The tank bounced over several logs throwing Matt and Sam against the sides of the tank. Sam yanked the wheel to the right again and held it there as the tank spun in tight, fast circles in the mud and sprayed mud everywhere. The spinning made them both nauseous.

Matt reached in and yanked the wheel to the left "You so suck at tank driving."

"Do not. Haven't crashed" Sam said defensively.

"Give me my Jack" Matt belched.

"My Jack now since you think I suck at tank driving" Sam said morosely.

Matt reached for the bottle and Sam batted at Matt's hands to shoo them away from the bottle. Both of Sam's hands came off the steering wheel but his foot pressed harder on the gas pedal. They were speeding backwards careening this was and that way as the two struggled over the bottle of Jack Daniels.

BAM!

Both were thrown forward then backwards as the tank ended up backwards in a deep ditch. The bottle of Jack went flying out of his hand and smashed on the floor of the tank. Stunned at the impact but otherwise unhurt in their drunken state Sam and Matt looked at each other.

Matt's face grew into a big grin "You so suck at driving a tank."

Frowning Sam sulked "Do not."

Matt tried to get out of the tank and after getting both feet out and on the top he slipped on the mud covered tank, lost his balance and rolled off the tank ending up on the ground on his back. Lying in the muddy ditch next to the tank Matt said "Do too. Look you crashed. We're in a fuckin' ditch."

Sam crawled out of the driver's seat and slipped off the tank. He stood swaying in a deep mud puddle next to the tank and scanned the area with a serious look. Then Sam tried to focus his eyes on Matt as he wobbled in place.

He assumed a cocky stance and Sam said emphatically "Exactly where I wanted to park it; got in one shot. The General will be impressed with my accuracy. Tanks are easy to drive."

Crawling up the embankment Matt got to the top and sat down then said sarcastically "You mean easy to crash. Think the General's gonna take the tank keys away from you."

Sam bent down and grabbed Matt's arm then helped him up with some difficulty as they slipped, slid, skidded and stumbled in the mud. Tons of curse words, not all in English, Sam finally got Matt up on his feet.

The two mud covered friends wandered away from the tank as Matt started loudly singing off key Fun, Fun, Fun by the Beach Boys but substituting his own lyrics

Well Sammy got the General's tank
And he cruised through the mud course now
Seems he forgot all about the shootin' range
Like he told his old man now

And with the ipod blasting
Goes cruising just as fast as he can now

And he'll have fun, fun, fun
Till the General takes the tank away
(Fun, fun, fun till the General takes the tank away)

Well the boys can't stand him
'Cause he shoots, runs, and drives tanks like an ace now
(You shoot like an ace now, you shoot like an ace)

He makes the Indy 500 look like a Roman chariot race now
(You run like an ace now, you run like an ace)

A lotta guys try to catch him
But he leads them on a wild tank chase through the mud now
(You drive like an ace now, you drive like an ace)

And he'll have fun, fun, fun.
Till the General takes the tank away
(Fun, fun, fun till the General takes the tank away)

Well you knew all along
That the General was gettin' wise to you now
(You shouldn't have lied now, you shouldn't have lied)

And since he took your set of keys
You've been thinking that your fun is all through now
(You shouldn't have lied now, you shouldn't have lied)

But you can come along with me
'Cause we gotta a lot of fun things to do now
(You shouldn't have lied now, you shouldn't have lied)

And we'll have fun, fun, fun now that the General took the tank away
(Fun, fun, fun now that General took the tank away)

---

One Hour Later – Outside Sam's and Matt's Barracks

Being three sheets to the wind Matt and Sam had gotten lost several times on their way to their barracks.

As they finally approached their barracks swaying and weaving this way and that way Sam said "Thanks for making my birthday not totally suck. Now that I can drive a tank I'm gonna do good tomorrow. The General will get his fucking perfect soldier if it kills me."

"Uh uh" Matt said as he slid down the side of their barracks.

Sam slid down next to him and the last thing Sam said before he passed out was "Is that all you can say?"

Matt said "Uh uh" as he joined Sam in a blackness fueled by excessive alcohol.

Unbeknownst to either one of them Drill Sergeant David Thompson and Sergeant Jeff Braddock were standing near the barracks watching them.

The Sergeants had followed them all the way from the motor pool keeping an eye on them. Jeff and David had laughed several times as Sam and Matt argued which way it was to the barracks and whether or not Sam was capable of driving a tank.

Jeff knew what today was and had come to check on Sam after dressing down the motor pool clerk for screwing up the paperwork for his group of recruits. He and David had tracked Sam and Matt down at O'Malley's bar. With hard glares they had stopped the bouncers from beating them with the bar bats. It was their reputations as men not to cross, the top two Drill Sergeants on base, which stopped the bouncers with only a glare.

As they followed the two drunken sots to the liquor store then to the motor pool Jeff was glad that David listened to him and did not intervene. He told David all he wanted to do was make sure Sam stayed safe today but not to intrude too much in his life.

David accepted it without explanation. But Jeff felt he probably owed his friend a bit of one after the tank went into the ditch. Covering that up would be pushing the limits of friendship Jeff thought. So yeah, some explanation was warranted.

Jeff sighed seeing that Sam's antics had come to a conclusion tonight. Sam and Matt were out for the count from what he could see. Jeff turned to his friend "So David want to go to the motor pool with me and tow that tank out of the ditch and clean up their mess?"

Sergeant Thompson nodded "Yeah that would be a good idea."

Then shaking his head a bit not sure what tonight was all about David commented "Jeff your cousin is three sheets to the wind tonight. Quite unlike the young man I've seen in training the past four months. I won't pry if you tell me to shut it but can you tell me why?"

"Today is Sam's birthday. It is never pretty. His little sister Sara died in front of him when he was nine and she was seven. Sara and Sam were thick as thieves. Sam adored his little sister and took such good care of her. Even allowed her to dress him up in tiaras and had tea parties to entertain her when their mom was busy. Unfortunately, Sam and Sara share the same birthdate two years apart" Jeff explained briefly.

Wow that was terrible David thought. If it were him he'd be three sheets to the wind too. David simply said "Understood." But then the Drill Sergeant in him reared its head and he added "But you know I'm not gonna go easy on them tomorrow."

Jeff grinned "Don't expect you too. Drill the shit out of him. Make Sam puke his guts out so he will think twice about ever drinking like that again. But the whole tank thing, that stays between us. Sam has enough to pressure and garbage to deal with without that going on his record."

"I know exactly what you mean" David said.

Jeff turned to David, his tone serious "I know you do. That's why my Dad and I arranged for Sam to be assigned to your unit. How's you dad, General Thompson doing anyways?"

"The old man is about to retire" David said without emotion.

"He ever forgive you for not enlisting as an officer?" Jeff asked.

"No. The old man still thinks I'm rebelling even after ten years. He still doesn't understand that as a Drill Instructor I make a real difference. That it is the right place for me to be. Still wants me to follow his footsteps" David said with irritation reflected in his tone.

Jeff nodded understanding. It was what many sons of high ranking officers had to deal with, him and Sam included. Jeff looked at a passed out Sam and then back to his longtime friend David "So about the tank. Just between us, right?"

Pushing away the irritation that thinking about his father always brought out David nodded and grinned "What are best friends for anyways if not to lend a hand every now and then when the shit hits the fan. Or in this case the little cousin hits the bottle and ditches a tank."

Jeff chortled loudly as he slapped David's back and they headed towards the motor pool "Absolutely. Just call if you ever need a return favor buddy."

As they walked David responded "Just might take you up on that. Did I tell you about Amber's ex-boyfriend? He had the audacity to accost her two days ago outside the flower shop Amber works at. The bastard grabbed her wrist so hard it left a bruise. She cried on my shoulder for a long time that night. She is terrified Bruce will do more than just grab her wrist the next time. God I want to kill that bastard Nealy for the way he treated her."

Jeff stopped and asked "Bruce Nealy, you say?"

David halted too looked at Jeff "Yeah why? You know him?"

Shaking his head "Not really just had the opportunity to dress down a guy by that name today. He's motor pool clerk that's been screwing up the paperwork on all the recruit's training results for the past few months. Finally got sick of all the typos and errors and gave him a piece of my mind. I told him to get his shit together or I was reporting him to his CO."

"That man is a thorn in my side. Seems like he messes up my platoon's paperwork on purpose. Nealy is incompetent as far as I'm concerned. I mean how the hell you can screw up an entire platoon's training results over and over is beyond me unless you are doing it on purpose. I should talk to his CO about getting him transferred. Clearly that position is not right for him" Jeff concluded.

David nodded "Wonder if it is the same guy? Only saw him once before when I first met Amber. I don't know what group he was with but Amber said he was military. I might just have to go over to the motor pool and see if it is him. If it is I'll have a nice little chat with the bastard. Some of the things Amber told me about that guy makes me want to kill him."

Seriously Jeff answered "You need back up witness for your chat all you need to do is just call. I'll be there." Then he joked "Hell, I'll even help you hide the body."

David laughed "Don't tempt me Braddock. Don't tempt me. The world would be a better place without Bruce Nealy."

The two Sergeants headed off to get the tank out of the ditch, wash it, park it where it belonged, fix the stop sign and fix the chain link fence. All before anyone could see what the two drunken sots had done. This was brotherhood. They had each other's backs.

Jeff smiled and thought Sam was gonna be so confused tomorrow when nothing was said about his and Matt's tank escapade. He knew that Sam would feel sick as a dog tomorrow and that in itself was punishment enough for drinking so heavily tonight even though he understood the reason for it. The rest would be his little secret. Maybe someday he would tell Sam how he got away with crashing a tank but not anytime soon.

---

Charlie's Toy Shoppe

Sam, Donny and Jimmy were running around the store with airplanes in their hands making all the requisite airplane noises as they made the wooden planes dive, spin and soar into the air.

Stopping for a quick breath, or as he told the boys his airplane was refueling, Sam grinned at his twins as they landed their planes for refueling too. He was glad when they woke up he did not make them wait to come to Charlie's Toy Shoppe. They had been here for nearly forty minutes. Today was great and they were having tons of fun.

His boys had endless energy. They had built a fortress out of tinker toys, Lincoln logs and big blocks. They had a tank battle of epic portions. Charlie had even joined them for that one. It was him and Charlie against Donny and Jimmy. He and Charlie lost; out strategized by three year olds.

Charlie had shaken his head and said as a retired Armored Division General he should be ashamed. He had commented that as an ex-JTF2 member he should be ashamed too. Charlie had looked at him surprised and asked if he was related to General Braddock.

When he answered that the General was his father they made a connection neither had known before. Sure they had introduced themselves to each other years ago when Sam first came to the store with Sadie but since then they had just called each other by their first names.

Turns out it was a really small world. Charlie Thompson, or more correctly Retired General Charles David Thompson was Sam's basic training Drill Sergeant's father. Sam had shared with Charlie what David and Jeff had done for him in basic training.

Charlie beamed and said "My boy sure has made a difference in so many young men's lives."

Sam then found out that after the General retired he was bored to tears. He had always loved children and had a huge soft spot for them. He enjoyed seeing their joyful innocence as they played and used their imaginations. Charlie said it made the sacrifices he made over the years of his service worth it. So naturally he opened a toy store.

Charlie saw Sam taking a break and sauntered over "Hey Sam."

Sam turned "Yeah Charlie?"

He handed him a flyer "I thought you and your boys might be interested in this. In two weeks Dwyer Hill is having an open house of sorts. They plan to have a lot of the vehicles and weapons on display. With how enamored Donny and Jimmy are of tanks I thought you might want to take them if you get the opportunity. There will be a Coyote Reconnaissance Vehicle like the one you drove in the tank escapade you told me about earlier."

Glancing at the flyer Sam said "They'd love it." He turned back to where the boys had landed their planes for refueling not a minute ago. "Hey boys …." They were not there.

Sam sighed. Charlie laughed "They're a hand full huh?"

Heading off to find them Sam said "Yeah but I wouldn't have it any other way."

Charlie laughed and headed to the front of the store "I'll make sure they don't escape out the front door." He heard Sam's thanks as he reached the cashier.

Melody smiled "Turbo twins on the loose again Gramps?"

Smiling at his sixteen year old granddaughter, Charlie said "Yep."

They were both startled when five men rushed into the store. The last one in turned, locked the door and flipped the sign to say closed. The first man waved a gun in their faces "Move. To the back now."

The other men all had weapons too and spread out.

Charlie said "No money in the back. You can take what is in the drawer. Most customers pay with credit cards so there is not much cash. But take it and go. There are children in here. You don't want scare children do you?"

The man with the gun in Charlie's face said "Don't give a crap about rug rats. I said move."

A woman screamed "Don't shoot me. Please don't shoot."

That alerted Sam that there was a serious problem in the store. His first thought was the twins. Where were his boys? He had to find them and make sure they were safe. His hand automatically went into his pocket grabbing his phone as he went into stealth mode searching for his boys and keeping watch out for whoever had a gun in a toy store.

Sam quickly dialed direct to SRU. Putting the phone to his ear he whispered "Winnie, it's Sam."

["Hey Sam, Jules is not here. On a bank robbery call, would yo…" Winnie started.]

Sam stopped her "Winnie got a hot call here. At least one armed man in Charlie's Toy Shoppe threatening a woman with a gun. Send SRU." Sam counted in his head the customers he had seen, unsure if any had left the store already. He continued "Potential hostage situation, six known friendlies with me and boys included, possible seven more friendlies."

[Winnie's professional demeanor locked into place even though she wanted to react. Sam needed help "You need to leave now if you can."]

"Can't the twins are playing in the store somewhere. Searching for them now" Sam whispered. He stopped as he saw men down one aisle.

Quickly he backed up and moved off to another aisle before relaying "Three confirmed armed men possibly more. They all have handguns, dressed all in black and wearing ski masks. Charlie and Melody are being held at gunpoint and moved to the back of the store. Unknown what the subjects' motive is."

["Okay. Stay on the line Sam. Team One is engaged. Sending Team Two. Patching you through to Bradley" Winnie informed Sam.]

---

First Canadian Bank

Ed stood next to Jules and pinched his brow. They had been here for nearly two hours. Jules was successful in negotiating the release of the injured security guard within ten minutes of them arriving. They had received word that he would make it.

Then Jules had spent the rest of the time trying to get the rest released. Things had been looking good up until fifteen minutes ago when the subjects stopped talking to Jules. All communication ceased.

They had made no headway in identifying the men either. The subjects disabled all cameras and anytime they were visible they had the ski masks firmly on. Mike had taken up a Sierra position but there was little visibility beyond the front area and the subjects had moved all the hostages behind the teller's desks.

Spike and Dale had successfully drilled a hole and gotten a snake cam in. What they found had baffled them. All the hostages were bound and gagged lying face down on the floor. There was no sign of the subjects.

In the background they could hear the subject repeatedly telling the hostages to say down or he'd blow their heads off if they moved an inch. It took Spike about five minutes to determine that it was actually a recording that was playing in a loop from the computer on the desk near the hostages. He figured it out when he heard the train whistle repeat twice inside the bank as the subject was speaking but there was no corresponding train whistle outside.

They had gone in hard after that. All the subjects were gone. The hostages verified that the subjects were not just trying to blend in as hostages to get away.

Spike, Leah, Dale and Mike were searching the bank now.

Ed looked up and saw Spike heading his way quickly. "How'd they get out?" Ed asked.

Spike ran up to them with Leah close behind "The bank had a problem with the sewer two weeks ago. The crew that came to resolve it is waiting for a replacement part. So they put a temporary covering over the entrance hole they cut to gain access to the sewer. They were in there long enough to find it even though it had been camouflaged. I'm sure that is out they got out."

Jules said "I'm going to speak with the bank manager. We need the name of the company that did the work. Could be an inside job. Might give us a lead on the subjects."

Ed said "Do it. Spike we need blueprints on the sewer."

Spike nodded "On it but Ed once in there they could come out anywhere. There are just too many exits and they have at least a fifteen minute lead."

"I know. Just do the best you can. Winnie I need you to alert the unit patrols. We need all the eyes we can in a" Ed said then looked to Spike "How big a radius?"

"Three mile intensive if they are still on foot. But they could be long gone if they had transportation waiting close by" Spike responded.

Ed asked "Winnie you got that?"

There was no answer from Winnie. It meant she was likely taking another hot call and was unable to respond at the moment.

Spike said "On it. I'll send out the communication."

Ed nodded.

Jules came back and said "Timberlake Sewer Systems was the company in charge of the repair."

Ed looked to Leah and said "Get over to Timberlake and see what you can find out. Who worked the job, who scheduled it. Heck even who ordered the replacement part."

Leah nodded "Copy." She raced to one of the SUVs and headed for Timberlake Sewer Systems.

---

Charlie's Toy Shoppe – Outside

Greg had parked the car and trod through the rain under his umbrella. He was tardy by twenty minutes. But his knee always bothered him in this weather and it took him a lot longer to walk through the airport terminal. His cane tapped on the ground with every other step.

He stopped at the entrance of Charlie's Toy Shoppe under the awning and closed his umbrella. Greg was looking forward to today. He had seen Sam's truck in the lot so they were still here. The twins most likely had Sam playing with trains or crawling through the tunnels.

It was funny how the turbo twins trapped Sam in the tunnels the last time the four of them all played here. Each of the twins zipped the end of the long tunnel closed when Sam crawled in after one of them. After they were zipped closed Greg helped the twins block the tunnel ends with tables turned on their sides. Sam had to talk his way out. The boys negotiated their demands with his help and Sam was released when he agreed to take the boys to Timmy's for Timbits.

Greg couldn't wait to play with Donny and Jimmy today. He wondered what type of magical mischief they would get into today. He had missed out on a lot of years with Dean. As Donny, Jimmy and Sadie's honorary Grandpa he was getting to live through those experiences.

Jules and Sam were generous with the time they shared their kids with him. He loved that they included him often. He even routinely took care of the kids when both Sam and Jules worked the night shift. Holleran tried to minimize that for them but it still happened often enough that Greg got to be a real part of the kid's lives.

He had been bummed he missed Donny and Jimmy's third birthday. Today he planned to spoil them and let them choose their own toys. Within reason though.

Greg turned to go inside and noticed the closed sign was displayed. That was odd. He tried the door and found it locked. He cupped his hands around his eyes and peered into the store. Lights were on but he could see no one.

He turned back to the parking lot. Were Sam and the boys still in the truck? Sam wouldn't keep the boys at the entrance waiting for him.

Greg chuckled at that thought. Nope Sam wouldn't do that or he would have two very wet tornados on his hands and likely be soaking himself. Greg was about to open his umbrella when he decided to call Sam instead.

He pulled out his phone and dialed. It rang but with that beep at the end that indicated he was on another call. Greg hung up and opened his umbrella. Greg guessed he was walking to the truck to see if they were there.

Arriving at the truck Greg saw that the truck was empty. Where could they be? The only other businesses in this complex were a fitness center and a bar. Sam wouldn't take the boys into the fitness center would he?

No too much trouble those little ones could get into there. Then again maybe one of the boys needed to use the bathroom. Sam woud go to the fitness center before taking the boys into the bar. Greg headed for the fitness center.

---

Charlie's Toy Shoppe – Inside

Sam located Donny and Jimmy and his heart raced with relief. Thank god they loved to climb. He saw just two little tuffs of blonde hair above the window of the tree house. Sam scanned the area and then quickly and quietly climbed the fake tree that went nearly all the way up to the twenty foot ceiling.

As Sam climbed up the tree house to the small door in the back of it he heard Sergeant Bradley come on his phone.

["Sam are you in a place you can talk?" Bradley asked.]

Sam ignored Bradley a moment in favor of getting to his boys. He could not risk being seen now so talking was out of the question for right now.

---

First Canadian Bank – Command Truck

Ed and Spike were reviewing the sewer blueprints and directing patrol units to possible locations. Jules had spoken with Leah and got the names of the crew that worked on the sewer while Leah tracked down other potential names.

Jules started doing research on the names she had and was coming up with nothing but squeaky clean records. None of them were in any financial trouble, had gambling problems, divorces or ill family members. This crew was looking like they were not involved unless it was a crime of opportunity.

She hadn't gotten that impression though when she talked to the manager at Timberlake about the crew. Terrance Timberlake only had glowing things to say about the crew chief and most the workers.

This was well planned and seemed professional, not something a sewer repair crew would do. The subjects even used that damned recording fooling them into thinking they were still in there while they made their escape.

But something niggled at her. Even though it looked professional she had a strong feeling whoever planned this knew about the sewer opening. But if so, why did they wait so long to escape?

Jules spoke up "Assuming the subjects knew about the sewer opening why would they wait so long?"

Ed and Spike looked up and contemplated Jules's question.

Dale came over the headset and offered up "Could be with all this rain they had to figure out if the sewer was flooded. Be risky to get down there and then have tons of water flowing and trapping you."

Spike's fingers started tapping away. "That's it. The main line sewers have sensors to indicate how full they are. The crews use them to monitor if there are leaks or if it is safe for workers to go into them. The ones that run under the bank were at full capacity. That is until about five minutes before we assume they left the bank."

Ed asked "With that can you track what direction they might have gone?"

Spike's fingers were already flying before Ed asked. Spike grinned "Got it. Only three potential paths." Pointing to the blueprints he said "Here, here and here."

Ed grinned "Good work. Winnie you back?"

Winnie had just patched Bradley into Sam and checked back on channel one to see if Team One needed assistance. She heard Ed asking if she was back and answered "Yes, what do you need?" She debated whether she should inform Jules but held off because Jules was dealing with another call and she should not distract her.

Ed relayed where he needed patrol units sent.

Winnie sucked in a breath. The third position was just a few yards from Charlie's Toy Shoppe. She knew that place well. Spike and Sam took the girls there often. Three men maybe more dressed in black with ski masks and hand guns Sam said. The same description as the bank thieves.

Team One all heard Winnie. It was unlike her to react emotionally. They all knew something was up.

Spike asked "Winnie what's up?"

Getting herself together quickly Winnie stated "Ed patching you in with Bradley. I think the subjects in the hot call that just came in are the same ones from the bank by the description and the third location you provided."

Ed and Jules were heading out of the command truck to the SUV as Ed asked "Location and details?"

Winnie reported swiftly "Charlie's Toy Shoppe, three subjects maybe more all in black, ski masks, handguns."

Jules paled "Winnie did you say Charlie's Toy Shoppe?"

"Yes. Jules the call came in directly from Sam. He was searching for the twins when he called. Sam hasn't responded to Bradley yet. They are on channel two" Winnie shared.

All of Team One switched to channel two. Ed looked at Jules and said "Keys. I'm driving."

Jules tossed him the keys without protest and climbed into the SUV buckling up as Ed started it and they roared away. Jules was concentrating on one thing only though. She was listening to Bradley trying to get Sam to respond.

---

Charlie's Toy Shoppe – Treehouse

Putting his index finger to his lips as he slipped quietly in the small back door of the tree house Sam was relieved to see the boys quietly playing with a chunky wooden alphabet puzzle. Playing with puzzles was one activity they were quiet for because they concentrated on making the pieces fit.

Carefully and silently Sam moved close avoiding the trucks and wooden blocks as he crawled on his belly. The twins watched him with big grins probably wondering what game he was up too. But this was no game and Sam hoped his boys would remember what to do. It was unlikely given their age but he could hope.

Sam quickly whispered "Operation Tomahawk."

Donny and Jimmy's eyes widened as big as they could as they recognized the words. Sam sighed with some relief that they at least knew their secret code for trouble. Sadie had a stranger danger presentation at school and she had bugged him and Jules to come up with a secret code to use if there was trouble like their teacher had said.

He and Jules had discussed it and decided that after the whole terror incidents on their wedding day it wouldn't hurt to have a family code to indicate trouble. However Sam never thought that Donny and Jimmy as young as they were really grasped the meaning even though they talked to them in words they might understand.

Quietly moving the boys to the back corner of the little tree house so their tuffs of hair did not show in the window he very quietly whispered "Do you remember what Operation Tomahawk means?"

Both boys nodded and made a zipping motion with their hands across their mouths.

Sam nodded then said "Bad men are in the store. Help is coming. I need you two to be silent and still. I don't want them to find you. Can you be silent and still?"

Donny opened his mouth to start to say something and Jimmy's hand immediately covered Donny's mouth. Donny looked at Jimmy and nodded. Both boys looked to their daddy and nodded.

Sam gave his boys a serious nod but tousled their hair with affection. Then he moved forward to determine if he could relay any more information to Bradley. At the edge of the door he carefully poked his head around. Sam pulled it back in quickly. Shit.

He put his phone up to his ear to give a report and heard Ed then Jules.

---

SUV Enroute to Charlie's Toy Shoppe

Jules swiped at her tears. She heard everything Sam said to the boys.

Ed looked at Jules "Operation Tomahawk?"

"Our code for trouble for the kids. It means it is not safe and they need to do exactly as we say and no talking. God I hope the boys understood and comply" Jules said a bit shakily.

[Sam smiled. He could put Jules worry to ease slightly right now "Copy that" he whispered.]

"Sam. Status?" Jules said briskly. Hearing his voice sent relief flooding through her. Two words 'copy that' conveyed the boys understood and were doing as they should. Jules wondered how long those two could be quiet though. They had played the quiet game and the boys never lasted more than three minutes.

[In as quiet of a voice he could use and still be heard by SRU Sam said "With twins in tree house unseen so far. Five subjects have seven hostages at gun point in the reading corner. Hostages include Charlie, Melody, a man, a woman, one infant, two girls about four and six. Subjects level yellow. Guns down but they are agitated. Motive unknown."]

Ed answered "Sam we believe they are the subjects from a bank robbery. The thieves escaped through a sewer. One of the sewer exits was just outside the toy store."

["Explains the stench. Can smell them from here" Sam said. He didn't like that the subjects had already been involved in another incident today. Why did they end up here? Plan gone wrong or by design? He asked "Ids?"]

Spike chimed in "Not yet. Sam why don't you text to me. I've just set it up so your text messages go to both teams instantly. That way you can remain silent and hidden with the boys."

Sam texted 'Okay'.

Jules said "Thanks Spike."

'Plan gone wrong or by design?' Sam typed.

Jules said "Unsure. We are running some leads. Sam is the Boss there with you?"

'No' Sam sent.

They all breathed a small sigh of relief. One less family member at risk.

---

Charlie's Toy Shoppe – Inside

Trevor Roid stalked back and forth. Everything had gone to hell. It was supposed to be so simple. But then the damned thunderstorm had to roll in on the last possible day for them to pull off the robbery.

Then that stupid gung-ho security guard had to go and pull a gun and Tully got trigger happy and shot him. No one was supposed to get hurt. In and out and a million dollars richer. No more need to crawl around in crappy sewers to make a living.

Bertie Easom whined "What are we gonna do now? It won't be long until they figure out we left via the sewer."

Stuart Brown responded "They won't find us here. All we need to do is lay low until tonight. Then under the cover of darkness we can escape."

Clement Whitt was getting antsy "I say we pick one of these guys and force them to drive us. We need to get out of town now."

Anthony Tully, Tony to his friends, sat behind the hostages listening to the others fall apart. They had no guts. It's how the lot of them ended up working for Timberlake Sewer Systems. Dead-end jobs for dead-end men with no prospects of doing anything more than menial work for the rest of their lives.

But Tony was tired of that. He was tired of crawling around in filthy stinking sewers. No more being looked down on as he walked past the pretty ladies because he stunk. He couldn't take a life like that anymore.

Tony overheard a lady say "Where is that childish guy with those two unruly boys? I swear those children were so poorly behaved. But what can you expect when the father acts like an overgrown child too."

When the guy that had been at the cash register glared at her he knew someone else was in the store. Tony stood up and looked around nervously. His finger was itching to go on the trigger. Where could they be? "Hey Trevor. There's more people in here. According to the lady a guy and two kids."

---

Charlie's Toy Shoppe – Outside

Teams One and Two pulled up in silent mode not wanting to spook the subjects inside. All piled out of the SUVs as Dale and Spike pulled up in the command truck.

Greg was just coming out of the fitness center not having located Sam and the turbo twins. He was about to call Sam again when he saw the SRU arriving. Oh no was the first thing that crossed his mind.

He had thought it odd the toy store was closed in the middle of the afternoon. Son of a bitch. SRU showing up meant only one thing. Sam and the boys were in trouble.

Greg hurried over to Jules and Ed as they geared up "Jules I think Sam and the twins are inside. His truck is here and he's not in it or the fitness center."

Jules turned at Sarge's voice. Her face reflected that she was already aware they were inside. Greg gave her a quick hug and asked "What is the situation?"

Ed rapidly explained as Bradley joined them.

Greg nodded solemnly "If there is anything I can do to help I'm here."

Bradley said "Given that Sam and the twins are inside I think that Team Two should take lead. I understand the subjects are likely the thieves from your call but we need to confirm that and I think Jules you might be too close to the situation to negotiate." He put up a hand to stall her comment and added "We can use you, just not as negotiator."

Ed said "I agree. Team Two has lead. Bradley is in charge."

Jules nodded. She didn't like it but they were right. She was having trouble thinking and staying professional because she was worried for her guys, her twins and Sam. Jules knew Sam would do all in his power to keep the twins and everyone safe. But he was one unarmed man against five armed men who had already shot one man today.

Spike called out from inside the command truck "Linked into Charlie's security cameras. Verified the subjects are the bank thieves. Same tags on their ski masks. Everything is as Sam said. The subjects have the hostages surrounded near the Black wall on the north side."

Curtis from Team Two was sitting next to Spike in the truck and called out "Blueprints sent to you."

Bradley looked to Ed. Compromised or not Ed was the best tactician they had and he would utilize his insight and knowledge. He asked "How do you want to do this?"

Ed scanned the blueprints with Jules and Team Two's TL Hal. He said "We should put Mike and John in Sierra positions. Jules truck and keep working on the profiles with Leah. We need to know who we are dealing with here."

Looking at Bradley, Ed continued "You negotiate. The rest of us will split out for tactical entry. Besides the front entrance there is a back door and possibly a way in via ventilation shafts."

Bradley nodded and looked to Greg "Could use your insights for negotiation since we have no clue who we are dealing with. Care to listen in?"

Holding out his hand Greg said seriously "Give me a headset."

Ed asked as Jules headed to the command truck and Mike and John headed off for Sierra positions "Spike do we have sound?"

Spike said "No only visual. But there is some movement now. The one subject that was sitting is now up and active. Looks agitated talking to one of them. Oh crap. Three of the subjects are spreading out. They appear to be searching. Sam I think they know you are in the store and looking for you now."

---

Charlie's Toy Shoppe – Treehouse

Shit Sam said in his head as he heard Spike. Just after that he heard one of the subjects call out loudly "We know you are in here with two boys. You better come out of hiding or we blow her brains out."

Sam wondered which of the four females he was threatening. None was expendable to Sam. If it were Melody he would likely have a problem with Charlie. He didn't think it was one of the little girls either. They would likely be screaming. It meant it was probably the mother he saw with the three kids.

That woman looked at him with such disgust and contempt as he and the twins were racing around the store together having fun. Her look clearly said she felt he was being a bad parent and his terrific twins were brats. He hadn't given her the time of day. Too many people have sticks up their asses about how kids should behave in public. This was a friggin toy store and Charlie encouraged playing here. The louder and more imaginative the better Charlie always said.

Sam pulled his thoughts back to the present. What was he going to do? He could not allow them to harm the woman no matter what he thought personally of her.

He scanned the ceiling and got an idea. Yeah he could do that. It would keep the boys safer for a little while. Hopefully until this situation was resolved.

Sam texted Spike having heard Spike on the phone 'Yeah they are searching for me. Going to leave twins in treehouse. Going to give myself up away from them so their position is not compromised. Will try to keep phone on so you have ears. Will try to get them to talk so you can id them'.

Turning back to the boys Sam took off the few toys on the little play table in the tree house. He tipped the table over on its side and put it in front of the boys. It provided another small layer of cover for them. God he hated to leave them. But he had no choice.

Sam got very close to the twins and whispered "Daddy has to go talk to the bad guys. You two must stay here. Stay silent and still. You stay here no matter what you hear. The all safe word is tanks. Mommy, me or one of your uncles will come for you when it is safe. Do not move or talk until you hear one of us say tanks. Do you understand?"

Sam knew the team had heard his instructions and would say tanks if they came for the boys. But he was hoping the twins understood and would follow his instructions. They were so young, so innocent and this was asking a lot of them.

Donny and Jimmy both nodded. There was glistening of tears in both of their wide blue eyes. Sam saw the fear in their eyes. Eyes like his that communicated so much if you knew how to read them. His boys were terrified and that tugged on his heart. Hell he was terrified too. Terrified for them. Terrified to leave them.

He kissed both of them and tousled their hair once again. "It's okay to be scared. Stay together and quiet. Pretend you are in stealth mode like when we play hide and seek and it takes Mommy and Sadie hours to find us."

Sam kissed them again. Their little hands grabbed onto his shirt in fear not wanting him to leave them. It was the hardest thing he ever did when he pried their hands loose and moved out of range of their reach.

With a hitch to his voice he whispered "Daddy and Mommy love you. Remember silent and still. Safe word is tanks."

Then Sam quickly slipped out of the tree house. Sam blinked several times to shed the tears that had blurred his vision. The image of his terrified turbo twin tornados was one that would be burned into his mind for a very long time. It would be a thing of his nightmares he was sure.

Sam swallowed the lump in his throat and made his way up to the rafters. It was a good thing the subjects were looking low. None of them had bothered to look up. Silently Sam pulled himself along the steel I beam that ran the length of the store.

Once he got to the shelf unit midway in the store he hung from his arms. It was still a three foot drop to the top of the shelf. He hoped he landed quiet enough. Sam released his hands and dropped to his feet.

The landing was not as quiet as he would have liked but he flattened onto his stomach as soon as his feet touched. Sam peeked over the shelf. He had time to drop to the ground and appear to be coming out from the dress up section of the store. Charlie had every imaginable costume in this section. Sadie loved the pirate ones when she was littler.

He brought her here often after the twins were born to play pirates with her. Just daddy and daughter time. A small smile came to his lips as he recalled the pirate name Sadie had bestowed upon him, Sparklefeet.

Sam put the phone in his shirt pocket. It would muffle the sound a bit but it was better than nothing. He dropped to ground just before the subject rounded the corner.

Tony yelled "Found him. Hold it right there. Don't move."

Sam stayed in the crouched position with his hands up and at the side of his head carefully watching the nervous subject. He didn't like how the man's finger kept moving towards the trigger. Sam stated calmly "Not moving. No need to point the gun at me."

---

Command Truck

Spike put his arm around Jules as the tears welled in her eyes. They had all heard Sam talking to the boys. It was hard to listen to without being affected emotionally. They could all hear through the calmness of his voice. They heard the sadness and fear of leaving his boys to protect them and the woman being threatened.

Spike, Curtis and Jules watched as Sam gave himself up to the subjects too. It was also hard to watch the twitchy subject wave a gun in Sam's face.

"Jules we will do everything we can to get them all out safe" Spike said.

Jules swiped away the tears and nodded "I know. Sam's doing the right thing now even though it is so hard."

She put the phone to her ear "Leah any additional leads?"

[Leah had been off the channel while all this was happening trying to get leads for Timberlake Sewer Systems. She had found out from Winnie she needed to switch to channel two but had called Jules phone so they could converse without interrupting what was going on inside. Leah said "Nothing else panned out. Everyone involved down the chain. Anyone with direct knowledge of the opening had been accounted for."]

Jules said "The crew that did the work. Have you spoken with them directly?"

["Not yet. On my way to the site they are working at today. ETA thirty minutes since it is on the outskirts of Toronto. Will contact you afterwards" Leah responded.]

"Copy that" Jules replied and then hung up the phone. She relayed to the teams "Still no ids or leads. Leah enroute to talk to the crew but it will be at least thirty minutes. Hopefully Sam can get us something to work with before then."

Greg looked to Bradley "We should give Sam a few minutes but if he is not successful in getting information we should cold call in. I don't think we can wait thirty minutes."

Ed said "Now that we know for sure they are the same subjects as the bank should we let Jules talk. She was able to get them to release the injured guard. Maybe she has a connection already and can get the kids out."

Jules spoke up "No. No I'm too compromised Ed." Her voiced cracked with emotion "My boys. No I couldn't bear to be the reason they get hurt if it turns out that way."

Greg was so proud of Jules. Her nature to take charge and plow through regardless of the situation had grown, matured and tempered over the years. He was glad she was self-aware and that this situation needed calm, cool heads. His heart also broke for her. Greg said in the voice he used to calm Jules for years "Jules it is okay. You focus on the profiling. Leave the negotiation to Bradley and me."

Jules hugged herself visioning Greg's calming arms around her as she closed her eyes and did sniper breathing. Once more in control she softly said "Copy."

Spike looked at Jules. The sympathy he had for her clear in his expression. He could only imagine what she was feeling. If that was Winnie and MonaLisa in there he would be so fine, so fucking F.I.N.E. Spike squeezed her shoulder reassuringly trying to provide a small amount of comfort.

Jules looked to Spike and forced a small smile to her face "I'm fine."

"I know. You will be okay soon" Spike said tenderly. Then he turned back to the monitors to keep watch so he could convey pertinent information to the teams.

Outside the rest of the teams were geared up and getting into entry positions. Ed and Hal had located a vent they might be able to use for entry as a last resort and sent Dale to check it out. The rest were at the front and back entrances with shields waiting for the go signal should to come to that. They all hoped that this could be resolved with talking.

---

Charlie's Toy Shoppe – Inside

Tony shouted "Stand up. Where are the brats?"

Sam opened his mouth and almost said what kids. But he heard in his inner ear the Boss saying 'first rule never lie'. He had learned so much from the Boss and always heard his guidance when he negotiated.

"I hid them. They are only three, scared and they do not need to see this. They are no threat to you" Sam stated calmly.

Tony kicked Sam hard in the thigh sending him crashing to the ground "I said where are the brats."

From the floor Sam said calmly "Not going to tell you."

Tony's temper flared. He kicked the blonde man in the face knocking him flat on his back. "You will tell me where the brats are."

Sam turned his head as he lay on the floor and spit out blood. The inside of his cheek was cut by his teeth. His tongue tested a few teeth. That hit was damn hard and several teeth were loose. He remained silent as he heard one of the other subjects yell "Tony bring him to the other hostages."

Tony yelled "Get up."

Sam gained his feet relying on one leg mostly. His thigh hurt like hell. He was feeling a bit woozy too. Yep that hit to his face was hard. But he got a name. He looked at Tony and said "What do you want Tony? Why are you here?"

Tony said "Turn around" as another man can down the aisle. Tony said to the other man "Clement get me something to tie his hands with."

Sam's arms were roughly twisted behind him. He felt the white hot pain as what he was sure were the tendons along the thumb side of his right hand tore as Tony twisted his wrist. Sam swallowed the scream clenching his teeth with all his might as the pain shot through his arm and hand. His wrists were then tied with twine. The twine was so tight and bit into his wrists.

Blowing out several short breaths Sam tried to gain control over the pain. As the initial wave subsided Sam realized he had another name. He needed to communicate the name in case the team didn't hear and also let them know he was less than one hundred percent now.

Sam said "Not gonna fight you. You don't have to rip my hands off Tony. Think you tore some tendons. Clement, Tony didn't say, but can you tell me why you all are here and what you want?"

Clement shoved Sam forward "Shut up and move. We will find those brats without your help."

Stumbling forward because his thigh was throbbing, Sam was forcefully pushed all the way to the reading area. Charlie looked up to him with concern and anger in his eyes. Sam could see the wheels turning in the man's head as he tried to plan tactics to get out of this. But Charlie was military. This was so different.

They had innocents to protect. Compliance for the most part and talk needed to rein right now not tank tactics. Sam tried to communicate with his eyes to stand down. Charlie and the others were unaware that help was here already.

Another man came up to him and asked "Where are the kids?"

Sam answered "Hidden, like I told Tony. They are only three and no threat. I came out willingly and will not tell you where they are. Leave them alone please."

Tony put the gun on Sam's temple "I should kill you right now. Blow your head off. Last chance, where are the brats?"

The little girls started screaming hysterically. Their screams woke the infant who then started crying. The man and woman were trying to hush them unsuccessfully.

"Bertie shut them up" Tony yelled.

Bertie looked around frantically "How?"

Sam could see it was quickly going downhill and the tension increased tenfold.

The man that appeared to be in charge shouted "Tony put the gun down. You are not gonna make this any worse for us all. You already shot the guard. You have a twitchy trigger finger. Now lower the gun." The man put out his hand and pushed the gun down so it was not aimed at his head.

Tony stalked away as he shouted "Dammit Trevor. What if those kids get out of here?"

Trevor watched Tony storm off and called out "Stuart locked the doors. They are three like the guy said. I doubt they can get out. You and Stuart keep looking for them."

Turning back to the man standing in front of him Trevor looked him over. He seemed calm and confident not all scared and nervous like everyone except the old man. The old man was staring daggers at them; like he wanted to take them all out.

Trevor noticed a bruise was forming on the blonde man's cheek and he had limped over. The man appeared to be holding his weight on one leg only too. Damn Tony. Assault was one more thing to add to their list of crimes if they got caught.

"Sit down" Trevor said pointing to a small table behind Sam.

Sam limped to the small wooden table and lowered himself onto it mostly stifling the hiss of pain as his thigh protested. Bruised muscles Sam thought. They burned but wouldn't take too long to heal.

---

Command Truck

Jules was incredulous. Tony a derivative form of Anthony. Bertie a nickname for Bernard. Trevor, Stuart and Clement. It was the crew from Timberlake Sewer Systems. Sam had gotten them the ids they needed.

Her fingers quickly pulled up the information and Jules called out "Ed I have their identities."

"How? Sam only got first names" Ed replied.

Jules said "All we needed. They are the crew from Timberlake. Trevor Roid is the crew chief. The crew also includes Bernard Easom, Clement Whitt, Stuart Brown and Anthony Tully."

Greg asked "What do you have on them Jules? What would be their motive to rob the bank? Who are we dealing with here?"

Jules answered "Crime of opportunity I think. Nothing indicates any of them are in financial difficulty. None have criminal records other than a few speeding tickets. No divorces, no ill family members. All have been with Timberlake for years. According to their files they are a good crew. The crew chief is a regular volunteer at the Third Strike Drug Clinic that helps young men stop using drugs and turn their lives around."

She continued to provide detailed information on each of the men.

---

Charlie's Toy Shoppe – Reading Area

Charlie whispered to Sam when he heard the hiss "Sam you okay?"

Sam nodded "Yeah just a bit sore."

"We need to do something to get out of here Sam. We can't just sit here. We need to take action" Charlie said with fire in his eyes.

Sam responded "No. We wait. We talk and see what they want. Can't go all military on them. Would put us all at too much risk."

The woman looked at the blonde man Charlie called Sam. She sneered "You talk about risk. Your kids are safely hidden. What about my kids. I say we do something."

Looking at the woman Sam took a deep breath to calm himself. He reminded himself that she was scared and not thinking. People say stupid things when they are not thinking and frightened.

Sam said quietly "No that puts your kids at more risk." He looked around and saw the three subjects guarding them were deep in a conversation and not listening to them. He whispered "SRU is here. They will handle this. Sit tight and remain quiet. Let them do their jobs and we can go home safe."

The woman glared at him. Her voice rose "How do you know SRU is here?"

The man next to her snarled out "Jess. Lower your voice. Quit being an ass."

Jess said even a little louder and angry "I'm not being an ass. You are being a coward like always Ian. Sam wants us to sit and do nothing. His judgement is already shown as poor letting his kids run screaming through the store and even joining in with them. So I will not bow to what he thinks. I say we do something to protect the kids."

Ian gave Sam a long suffering look and whispered "How do you know SRU is here?"

Sam saw they were attracting the attention of the subjects. Not a good thing. He remained silent.

Trevor turned to the group and said "Be quiet."

Jess was pissed. Whether the SRU was here or not she was gonna scare the men into thinking they were. She spoke up "The SRU is here. They are gonna shoot you all for taking us hostage. I bet their snipers have a bead on each of you right now."

The three men ducked down behind a book shelf. Trevor called out "Tony, Stuart take cover."

Sam thought damn, so much for giving the team time to work out a solution. He saw Tony come back to Trevor and ask "Why?"

Trevor said "SRU. They found us."

Tony shouted "How?"

Stuart crouched down by Bertie and asked "How do you know SRU found us?"

Trevor said "The woman said they were here."

Jess looked at them triumphantly, the gunmen were scared.

Tony stormed over to the woman. All bravado fell from Jess's face as the gun barrel pointed between her eyes. Sam thought shit as Tony shouted "How the hell do you know the SRU is here?"

Jess's mouth opened and closed like a fish as she shook. The little girls began screaming again. Melody and Charlie each grabbed a girl and turned the girl's heads away from their mother. They held the girls tightly whispering comforting words to them.

Sam had to act. Tony's finger was on the trigger. Sam stood up balancing on one leg "Because I told her the SRU is here."

The gun swung towards him. The finger was still on the trigger. Tony yelled "And how do you know?"

"I called them" Sam said flatly. He was trying to calm his emotions in the chaos. He hoped Donny and Jimmy were stilling where he left them and not tempted to peek out to see what was going on. If this went sideways he did not want his boys to watch him get shot.

Trevor stood and made his way to Sam and Tony "Tony for gods sakes put the damned gun down."

"Why should I?" Tony shouted taking a step towards Sam.

Trevor stepped between them "I said put the gun down Tony. I'm still in charge here. You will do as I say."

There was tension between the two men as they stared each other down. Tony finally dropped his eyes and looked away. He slowly lowered the gun.

Sam sighed and said "Thank you Tony."

Tony looked at the blonde man for a long moment. Did he really just thank me for not shooting him? He hadn't even flinched a muscle staring down the gun barrel. He sounded so calm too. Who the hell was this guy with nerves of steel?

"Just who the hell are you?" Tony asked.

Shifting his weight a bit to get better balance Sam answered simply "Sam Braddock." He didn't want to tell them he was with SRU. That could escalate things again.

Trevor spun around and stared at the blonde man. No fucking way. "Sam Braddock?" he said in disbelief.

"Yes" Sam answered wondering at the astonished look on the man's face.

Then he realized that people still sometimes recognized him from the whole assault debacle with DuPont and the press coverage that Team One got after the day of terror when Faber set off all those bombs. He waited to see how Trevor would react.

"Sam Braddock as in son of General Braddock?" Trevor asked to validate what he was thinking.

That threw Sam. So he knew him through his dad. Sam's mind raced to see if there was a connection to be worried about. Could he have been an enemy created by the fallout of the investigation into his JTF2 service?

Sam answered slowly "Yes the General is my dad."

Trevor's eyes widened. He recalled the young man that tried his best to help him when he was a strung out, confused and angry young man himself. He had resisted all help so mired in his problems and blaming the world for all its unfairness. It wasn't until he hit rock bottom and almost died of an overdose that he realized what Sam Braddock had tried to do for him those three weeks he was in basic training.

Out of left field Trevor laughed "Christ, that bruise is in the same exact location as the one my boot left on your face. Hell I never figured out how the hell you held on when I crashed to the ground. I was pissed off that you did. It was the reason I stomped on your toes later. You were some freakin' super soldier. Did everything right while I continued to fuck up."

Sam's eyes widened "Roid?"

Trevor nodded "Yeah. Been a long time huh."

Sam was trying to see how he could take this new information and use it. How should he react? What tactic should he use to forge a connection?

He settled on humor. Humor could defuse a situation. Sam smiled and said lightly "You know you broke two of my toes. Made running those twelve mile hikes tortuous. The Drill Sergeant was hard taskmaster. He sure put us through the paces."

Nodding Trevor said "Yeah Sergeant Thompson sure did. Wish I would have listened to you and him back then. My life might have turned out better if I had."

Sam could work with that statement. Calmly he said "Never too late."

Charlie looked up "My son was your Drill Sergeant?"

Sam cringed inwardly that Charlie spouted the connection. He was unsure how Trevor would react so he said quickly "Trevor what is it you want? What needs to happen so everyone can get out of here safely?"

Trevor looked to Charlie "Your son?"

Charlie handed off the little girl to Melody and stood up "Yes my son. He is still a Drill Instructor. Loves his job. It's a passion of his to help young men find their way out of difficult lives and make something of themselves."

Tony had been listening and deep down rage flowed up again. There was never anyone in his corner. Never anyone to help him out of his difficult life.

Now they wouldn't be able to get away. They knew Trevor and if they knew Trevor they would find out who the rest of them were. God dammit! He was not going to get caught.

A tremor went through Tony as he shouted in rage "Trevor you know them? They can identify you now. We have to kill them or you will go to jail."

---

Command Truck

Greg and Bradley had moved into the command truck with Jules and Spike. Curtis had left to join the entry team at the back of the toy store.

Jules was listening like all of them. Sam was doing surprisingly well given the situation. She and Spike glanced at each other when Trevor recognized Sam. Was this good or bad? Their looks both turned to astonishment at the connection. Jules held her breath waiting.

Spike breathed out "Oh crap."

Greg said "We need to call in. I think Sam has taken it as far as he can. The connection can go one of two ways."

Then the teams heard Tony yell out "Trevor you know them? They can identify you now. We have to kill them or you will go to jail."

The four in the command truck watched as Tony's gun rose up on Sam again.

Bradley called out "Ed go silent. You need to get in there like we outlined. Tony has the gun leveled at Sam again."

Ed called out "Copy. Alpha ready. Bravo status?"

Hal called out "Bravo ready."

Ed asked "Charlie in position?"

Leah had headed back to the toy store when Jules discovered the crew was not at their expected location and were actually the thieves. She was harnessed and feet positions to kick out the vent. She was the only one small enough, besides Jules, to get into the vent system. Leah whispered "Charlie ready."

"Alpha and Bravo go quiet and careful. Charlie wait for go command if we have to move fast."

"Copy" sounded off from all.

Ed's team at the front quietly picked the lock as did Hal's team in the back.

Spike turned his attention to scanning all the camera locations. His eyes grew as big as saucers, fear blossomed in is heart and he said "No, no, no, no."

Greg, Bradley and Jules all whipped their heads towards the monitors.

Jules froze in terror.

Everyone froze when two distant screams of "DAAAAADDDDDYYYYY" filled their headsets.

Rapidly Ed commanded "Go. Go. Go."

Jules flew out of the command truck racing for the toy store. Spike, Greg and Bradly were close behind. But a mother's fear had her quickly out distancing all of them. She had to get to Donny and Jimmy.

---

Charlie's Toy Shoppe – Treehouse

Donny and Jimmy had gathered up all the trucks and chunky alphabet puzzle pieces. They created a stock pile of ammo.

Jimmy whispered "Thould we use the tootsie rolls too?"

Donny shook his head "tniper rations."

The boys sat behind the table their daddy tipped over to hide them. Daddy had been gone a long time. They had been quiet a looooong time. But they were doing as daddy said. This was operation tomahawk.

Sadie played operation tomahawk with them a lot and taught them what to do if Mommy or Daddy ever said it. She could be mean and yelled at them if they were not silent for a long time. Sadie told them all about keeping any food just in case it was a long wait. She called them sniper rations.

Their big sister said they should find ammo too to throw at the bad guys if they tried to take them. But Sadie said that if the bad guys found them the first thing they were supposed to do was to scream as loud as they could so Mommy or Daddy would know they were in trouble. That Mommy or Daddy would come save them because that was their job. SRU saved people.

Jimmy and Donny were each chewing on a tootsie roll when they grabbed a chunky alphabet puzzle piece. They heard someone climbing up the tree house.

The door opened.

Stuart looked into the tree house. He saw two blonde heads behind the tipped over table. He shouted out loudly "Found them."

He moved the table. Stuart was pelted continuously with alphabet puzzle pieces and wooden blocks. He lost his footing on the tree as he tried to block the flying projectiles. Damn they hurt. Those little boys threw hard. Stuart started to fall.

Donny and Jimmy both yelled in their turbo twin engine screaming voices "DAAAAADDDDDYYYYY."

---

Charlie's Toy Shoppe – Inside

The gun rose and pointed at his chest this time. Sam held still. Shit. Sam thought Bradley needed to call in. He had taken this as far as he could.

He was deciding what to say to indicate to Bradley to call when his boys' terrified screams of "DAAAAADDDDDYYYYY" rent the air.

Sam's head whipped to the treehouse as did everyone else's. He had to get to his boys. He had to save his boys.

He started running to the treehouse. Sam's hands were bound behind his back and his thigh burned like hell as he ran flat out but he would not let that stop him from getting to his boys.

Trevor and Tony were startle by the screams.

As Sam began to run towards the treehouse Tony leveled his gun at him. Tony pulled the trigger just as he was tackled to the floor.

Ed yelled "Active shooter" and the teams flooded into the toy store. Silence no longer necessary; speed was the tactic now.

Sam crashed to the floor.

Leah burst through the vent and rappelled down. She aimed her weapon at two of the thieves.

Bertie and Clement stood stock still.

Charlie wrestled Tony for the gun after tackling him. He hoped to god he had moved fast enough.

Trevor stood stunned and let his gun fall limp in his hand as he watched Sam crash to the floor. All around him was chaos but he could only stare at Sam. How the hell had it gone so wrong?

Stuart rolled off of the man he landed on as he fell out of the tree. Immediately he was roughly thrown on his stomach and handcuffed by Team Two's new rookie Craig.

Ed ripped the gun out of Tony's hand. The aimed his weapon at him.

Charlie backed off breathing heavily.

Hal wrenched Tony over and cuffed him.

Dale and Curtis relieved Bertie and Clement of their guns and handcuffed them.

Gary took Trevor's gun and put the man in cuffs while Bradley covered him.

Spike raced to Sam who was lying face down on the floor.

Jules raced up the tree.

---

Charlie's Toy Shoppe – Treehouse

Donny and Jimmy high fived as the man fell down the tree as they had thrown their ammo him. Daddy would be here soon. Sadie would be proud of them. They did just what she said to do. They reloaded their hands just in case the bad man climbed the tree again.

Jules raced up the tree. She had noticed all the blocks and puzzle pieces at the base of the tree as she raced in. The man on the ground had a distinct T shaped red mark on his forehead.

She stopped just below the doorway and called out "Tanks."

Slowly Jules lifted her head hoping not to be pelted with blocks.

Donny and Jimmy looked at their Mommy. She said the safe word. They could talk now. The twins yelled "Mommy."

Jules scrambled into the tree house and gathered her boys into her arms. She held them tightly as they began to barrage her with the tale of their derring-do. How they made the bad man go away. How they did just what Daddy said and were quiet for a really loooooong time. How they did what Sadie taught them.

She held them and rocked them as she listened and said the right words at the right time. But her mind was elsewhere. Sam was on the floor down below. She had no clue if he was alive or dead or if he had been hit by a bullet or not. He was down and that is all she knew.

Jules heard the chaos below slowly calming. She dared not move. If Sam was badly hurt or worse she did not want Donny or Jimmy to see. But it was killing her not to go to Sam.

When the boys stopped to take a breath in their tale Jules said "Quiet now. Mommy has to talk to Uncle Spike."

Donny asked "Uncle Tike is here?"

Jimmy rolled his eyes "Yeah Uncle Tike is here. He works with Mommy. Mommy has her cool pants on so she is working."

Jules couldn't help the smile that graced her face. The boys picked that up from Sam.

Taking a calming breath Jules called out "Spike status?" She knew Spike would know whose status she was asking for without saying his name and alerting the boys that something might be wrong.

---

Charlie's Toy Shoppe – Inside

Greg and Spike knelt down by Sam. Spike whipped out his knife and cut the twine. They gently rolled Sam over and checked for wounds.

Sam was out cold but thank god no gunshot wound. He was a little beat up though. Looked like the guy that fell out of the tree landed on top of him. There was a knot on his forehead where it struck something when he was knocked to the ground.

Spike called out to Jules "No GSW. Taking a nap it looks like." He knew with the boys within hearing distance he had to be careful what he said. Spike knew Jules would understand GSW stood for gunshot wound. Napping would mean he was knocked out.

Greg said "EMS on the way."

Jules called out "We are gonna stay up here for a little bit."

Ed said over the headset quietly so the twins could not hear "Good idea Jules. I'll let you know when it's clear. After the medics take Sam out. Hang tight."

They all wanted to shelter the twins from experiencing any more trauma. None of them wanted them to see any the chaos going on in the store. They did not need to see the medics surging in to check out the hostages and Sam or the SRU officers taking out the thieves.

But most importantly twins absolutely did not need to see their daddy lying unconscious on the floor.

Charlie looked to Ed as he shooed the medic away from him. He asked "Is Sam okay. I tried to move fast but I'm a bit slow in my old age."

Trevor who was still standing there too, resisted the pull of the officer. He wanted to hear the answer.

Ed nodded to Charlie. Ed heard the medics talking about Sam through his headset because Spike and Greg were still next to Sam. He relayed to Charlie "Not shot. Knocked out. Some contusions to his head and face. Looks like he might have an injury to his right hand, it is swollen and he has shallow cuts to his wrists. Sam should be okay."

Charlie was relieved "Thank goodness I was so worried." He let the medics take a look at him now that he knew Sam would be okay.

Trevor tugged a bit against the officer trying to take him out and said to Ed and Charlie "I'm sorry. I didn't want anyone to get hurt. It was supposed to be easy money. In and out and no one hurt. I'm sorry Sam got hurt. I really should have listened to him in boot camp. My life could have been so different."

Ed banked his anger remembering what Jules had said about the man. He turned to Trevor and said "You have made a difference in the lives of many a young man trying to kick a drug habit. Do not short change the good things you have done in your life."

"Yeah you screwed up. You made a bad decision today to rob the bank. You will have to pay the consequences for that choice. But you did try to get Tony to stop and not hurt others. That will go a long way in your favor with the courts" Ed concluded.

Trevor was not mollified by the words. Sadly he said "Tell Sam I'm sorry" as he was led away.

---

Two Weeks Later – Dwyer Hill Base Open House

Sam was standing with Jules, Greg and Charlie as the turbo twins and Sadie squealed with delight as they climbed into the tank. Charlie had used his old connections to arrange for the kids to get to ride in the tank during the open house.

Charlie turned to Sam and asked "Are you sure you don't want to drive?"

Sam laughed and raised his right hand that was in a brace "Doctor's orders not to. Doesn't want me to reinjure the tendons. Said that surgery was some of his best work and I better not mess it up."

Jeff Braddock popped his head out of the tank and said "Sam how about a ride at least. I promise not to drive like a drunken soldier and ditch the tank."

Jules smiled and slightly nodded towards the tank "Go on Sam. Charlie and the Boss will keep me company."

Glancing at Jules with an 'are you sure' expression Sam waited. She was making sure he followed the doctor's instructions completely so his tendons healed properly and he would not lose any function of his right hand.

Jules simply nodded. Sam gave her a WOW smile.

As Sam headed for the tank and carefully climbed up making sure not to use his right hand his thoughts turned to Matt. He had a lot of good memories of Matt. The tank escapade was bittersweet but he decided to hang onto only the good and let the rest fade away. Matt had made a difference in his life. Matt's life had value and purpose. Matt was the best of friends and their bond was stronger than blood brothers.

Sergeant David Thompson strode up and put his arm around his Dad's shoulder "Hey pops. Good to see you here today. Enjoying old home week I hope?"

Charlie smiled at David "Yep. I'm also working on the next generation. Maybe in fifteen years or so you might just have a set of Braddock boys to train."

David quipped "So long as I don't have to tow any tanks out of a ditch with them."

He laughed watching as Sam's kids climbed in. David never knew that his dad had such a soft spot for kids. After his dad had retired and he opened the toy store their relationship had been transformed. It still boggled his mind some days thinking about the one eighty turn their relationship had taken. David was glad for it though.

When they met for their weekly lunch two weeks ago his dad had told him all about what happened at the toy store. David found it interesting just how small the world was sometimes. You never knew whose lives you might impact or intersect with.

After Sam sat down in the command seat Donny and Jimmy climbed into his lap. Sam wrapped his arms around his turbo twins then shouted "Tally ho Braddock."

As Jeff took off backwards to the delighted squeals of the kids he smiled at Sam.

Sam grinned as the soundtrack of Fun, Fun, Fun played in his head with Matt's voice singing his version of the lyrics.

Closing his eyes and conjuring an image of Matt at the head of the basic training graduate parade, Sam whispered "Hey Matt, Happy Birthday brother. I'm celebrating your life today and I'm glad you were born. Thanks for teaching me to drive a tank and showing me the beauty of life."

.

---

AN: I hope you enjoyed the extra-long 'T' story. It was a little different with a mix of emotional and physical whump. I went lighter on the physical whump because I couldn't beat up Sam too badly in front of his three year olds. Hope you enjoyed the drunken humor too – that stuff is hard to write.

Ideas for V, W, X would be much appreciated. Please let me know what you thought of this installment.

Special Nods to Samtastic readers (if I missed your contribution please PM me and I'll correct):
- Tackle from Vispail
- Tackled from EchoInTheSilence
- Tactics from thisisfromawhileago and ferret assassin nin
- Talk from fallingfreely-flyingblind
- Tank from Purpwithapen and sarasidle3
- Tardy from thisisfromawhileago
- Target from Vispail
- Taxpayer from venetiaj
- Team from thisisfromawhileago
- Tear/Torn from fallingfreely-flyingblind and taylorbuck338
- Tears from pmbb, Vispail
- Technique from thisisfromawhileago
- Teeth from nicolelylewis, pmbb, Vispail and fallingfreely-flyingblind
- Temper from thisisfromawhileago
- Tender from Guest
- Tendons from Guest and nicolelylewis
- Tense from Guest
- Therapy from pmbb
- Thief from thisisfromawhileago
- Thigh from EchoInTheSilence and taylorbuck338
- Thinking from EchoInTheSilence
- Thirst from nicolelylewis
- Thorn from taylorbuck338
- Throat from pmbb and taylorbuck338
- Thrown from taylorbuck338
- Thunder from EchoInTheSilence
- Thunderstorm from Vispail
- Tied up from taylorbuck338 and Vispail
- Time from Guest
- Tired/Tiredness from Vispail and nicolelylewis
- Toe from EchoInTheSilence, fallingfreely-flyingblind, nicolelylewis, Purpwithapen and taylorbuck338
- Tongue from fallingfreely-flyingblind, nicolelylewis, pmbb and musicaldolphingirl2013
- Tornado from Vispail
- Tough from fallingfreely-flyingblind
- Tow from Purpwithapen
- Transfer from thisisfromawhileago
- Translation from pmbb
- Trauma from ferret assassin nin
- Treehouse from EchoInTheSilence
- Trees from EchoInTheSilence
- Tremor from nicolelylewis
- Trigger finger from nicolelylewis
- Trip from pmbb
- Truck from Bluejay141519
- Trust from fallingfreely-flyingblind
- Tumble from EchoInTheSilence and fallingfreely-flyingblind
- Twister from musicaldolphingirl2012
- Typo from taylorbuck338