Author's Notes: Hang on folks, it's going to be the start of a bumpy ride. (well, maybe not the start of it but you know what I mean.)
Disclaimer: The show Flashpoint and its characters were created by Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern and belong to them and its perspective networks. I am making no money off this story and it is for entertainment purposes only. However, this particular story is my creation and should not be used without my express written permission.
Growing Up Too Fast
Chapter 44
"Well Spike?" Ed asked as the meeting broke up.
The young man shrugged. "Not bad, couldn't take the place of Babycakes though."
Ed laughed. "Nothing could ever take the place of Babycakes with you, Spike. Not even what this device would try to do. Question is could they play well together on the playground?"
"So Lane, you planning putting everyone on Team 1 through one of these?" Donna Sabine-Gerald asked as she joined the two men. "I thought Sam was accompanying you to these get-togethers."
"Spikes the demolitions expert, figured he'd get a better idea if this was something worth the department spending money on." Ed countered. He didn't add that he hadn't wanted to ask Sam to choose between spending time with Jules or attending a work related meeting. He didn't doubt Sam's devotion to duty, but with everything the young couple had been through Ed felt like Sam's time was better served being there for Jules.
Donna nodded. "Makes sense."
Team 3 gear up. Hot call, 9-1-1 call, possible assault, shot fired, no further contact with the caller.
Donna frowned. "Gotta go."
The dispatcher relayed the address and Ed and Spike exchanged an immediate look before taking off after Donna. "We're coming with you."
Donna gave Ed an odd look as she started grabbing her gear. "Why?"
"That's Jules's address."
She should tell them no, it was a conflict of interest of the highest magnitude but she couldn't. It hadn't been that long ago that she was the one asking to be included in a case she had no right to be involved in. "Okay, but you stay in the truck until the scene is cleared. Understood?"
"Copy that." Ed agreed.
They followed Donna to the SUV. Once they were en-route, Donna keyed her com. "Sidney, can you patch the 9-1-1 call through?"
"Copy that. The line is still open but there's been nothing since the shot was fired. Do you want the live feed or the initial call?"
"Give me the initial but keep recording and let me know immediately if there is anything new."
She purposely kept her com so that neither Spike or Ed could hear the call. She could understand that they wanted and needed to be there for their friends but at the same time she wanted a little control over the knowledge they had, just in case it was bad news. The recording started in her ear.
"9-1-1, what's your emergency…"
"I need backup at 21 Lexington. He's in the house and he's going to attack me again."
"Bitch, I'll make you pay for that. Where'd you go? There you are Little Girl. Fine you want it in your own bed I'll do you right here. Blood's a bitch to get out of sheets though."
After that there was a muttered curse from Jules and then the sound of a phone dropping. Donna could hear what could have been a struggle and then a single gun shot and what sounded like a body falling. After that as Sidney had indicated nothing more was heard. Donna glanced over at the two men riding with her. "Jules made the call. There's a man in the house and it definitely isn't Sam. I can't tell who was shot."
The urge to call both Sam and Jules's cell phones was strong but Spike resisted. They didn't know what was going on and a ringing phone could put someone in danger. He kept checking his watch; the length of time the ride seemed to be taking not matching what his watch said. In his mind he could see Jules lying there hurt, possibly shot and bleeding to death and they were taking too long to reach her.
Donna pulled the SUV up in front of the house. Everything looked peaceful and quiet. Too quiet considering a gun had been fired. Donna looked at her team. "Todd, Brian. Check the rear of the house. Max get Ed a spare com."
Max returned a second latter with another radio. Ed took it and slipped the ear piece into his ear and turned on the radio to the right channel. Donna nodded. "Okay, Ed, I'm letting you listen in. Don't make me regret this. I know you are worried about Jules but neither of you are going in without clearance from me. As soon as I know the situation I'll let you know. Trust us to take care of Jules. Okay?"
Ed nodded immediately. It chaffed him to be on the outside unable to lead the tactical teams but he knew he had to let Donna do her job. Spike on the other hand took another couple of moments to agree. Donna smiled sympathetically. She knew how close Team 1 was. They weren't a team but a family and it was killing them to know that one of their own was in trouble and they couldn't do anything. She looked at Max. "We're going in the front."
As she started toward the front door, Ed stopped her. "The door is probably locked. Jules keeps it locked all the time."
Donna nodded. "Spare key?" Ed shook his head. "Get the ram. We'll force entry if we have to."
"Donna, there's a ladder on the back of the house. Looks like a broken window to a third floor window."
Again Donna looked to Ed who frowned. He explained. "We learned yesterday that her assailant gained entry to the house via the attic. That's the third floor window. Jules was planning on replacing the window but maybe that didn't deter a second attempt."
"Sam's here." Spike announced. He'd seen Sam pull up in Jules's jeep. Of course he only got as far as the police barricade with the vehicle but a flash of his police ID got him access. The young blonde ran to them, his eyes frantic and his face pale with worry. His futile attempts to call Jules on his way back had terrified him but that was nothing compared to turning the corning and seeing blue lights swarming the front of the house.
"Ed, Spike, Donna, what's going on? Where's Jules?"
Donna looked at him. "Give me your house key. Ed and Spike will fill you in."
"Like hell. If something is happened, I need to get in there. I'll grab a vest from the truck."
Donna looked at him. He was a good officer and knew his job better than anybody on her team. Team 1 didn't have the best reputation for no reason. But right now there was no way he could think like an officer and that made him a loose cannon. She also knew he wouldn't listen if she treated him with kid gloves. "Sam, we don't have time for this. For every second I spend out here arguing with you it's seconds my team and I are not in there checking and containing the scene. You know I can't let you go in there until we know what's going on. Now, either give me your key or we will bust in that front door. But a stealth entry could save Jules's life. You decide." She looked at the two men who'd ridden to the scene with her. "Can you two contain him or do I need to get uniformed officers over here to do it?"
Ed nodded and looked at Sam. "Sam, Buddy, you know we got to play this right and we can't afford to waste time. Let Donna and her team do their job."
Sam reluctantly handed his key to the female leader of Team 3. She and Max made their way to the front door. As she unlocked the door, she spoke into her com. "Todd, Brian, enter through the attic. Be careful and keep the com open."
She eased the front door open and they entered quietly with guns drawn. A quick sweep revealed nothing out of the ordinary. "First floor clear."
"Attic clear but we've got definite signs of a struggle. A little blood but nothing to indicate gun shot wound."
"Copy that, moving to the second floor."
Donna and her partner made their way up the stares. A step ladder was lying haphazardly on the floor and a smashed cell phone was next to it. They reached the attic ladder at the same time Todd and Brian came down from the attic. Silently Donna indicated that they head down one side of the hall while she and Max checked out what looked to be the main bedroom.
She entered with her gun raised but she immediately lowered it when she saw what was waiting for her. A man was lying on his back dead from a bullet wound to the head. Jules was standing two feet away. Her hands were tied together with what looked like a blue string or cord. The tied hands held a 40 caliber hand gun still in firing position. Jules was staring ahead as if she wasn't aware of anything.
Donna holstered her gun and motioned for Max to stay out. She didn't think Jules was a danger but minimal contact was probably best until the gun was no longer in play. Though Jules's clothes looked intact she couldn't be sure how far an assault had gone and introducing another male into the scene could push the distraught woman over the edge. The other woman was clearly injured: lower lip busted and swollen, the lower right side of her face was already turning purple and swelling, a trickle of blood ran down her cheek from a small laceration just above the bruise and that was just what Donna could see.
"Jules?" She didn't add any endearments after the name. Jules's team could probably get away with a Sweetheart or a Honey here but Donna didn't know her as well as they did and it would just come across as patronizing and belittling. Better to treat her as an equal and appeal to her professional nature. "Jules, the subject is contained. You can stand down."
Just Jules's eyes flickered ever so slightly to glance toward Donna. The team leader took it as a positive sign that Jules was at least aware of her presence and stepped closer, staying out of the line of fire from where the gun was pointing just in case. Each step closer to Jules was slow and measured and she was prepared to stop if the other woman became agitated.
"Jules, it's Donna. We've got the scene secured and the subject's been neutralized. You can put your gun down." Her assessment hopefully served two purposes. The most important one being to break through the haze Jules seemed to be in and get rid of the gun. The second was that she knew Ed was listening on the other end and her words would alert him - and by extension Sam and Spike - that Jules was alive and safe.
"He was in the attic." Jules's voice was quiet as if she were speaking from a long way off into a tunnel. "I tried to get away but he threw me to the ground. The smell, that horrible aftershave, was the same. I couldn't let him hurt me again."
Donna took it as a positive sign that Jules was at least talking. "And you did just that. You defended yourself. He can't hurt you any more. But Jules, I need you to give me that gun so we can get you some help. Okay? Sam's downstairs. So are Ed and Spike. They are all really worried about you."
Jules's bound hands began to shake and the gun lowered just a little. Now she fully looked at Donna. "Sam's here? He had to go help Natalie. He's going to blame himself because he wasn't here but it's my fault. I should have gone with him and everything would have been fine. Should have left the attic locked and he wouldn't have gotten to me. Should have just waited for Sam to get back."
"Sam's going to be okay as long as you're okay, Jules. He wants to be up here with you right now but you know how this works. I can't let him in the house at all until you give me that gun. As soon as I have your gun they can enter the house." Again not only reassuring Jules but letting Ed know what to do at the same time.
"I can't." Jules admitted softly. "I want to but I can't."
It was then that Donna realized that she might physically be having difficulty doing so. The string her hands were tied with looked like it was cutting deep into her skin. Her fingers were white like all the blood had been drained from them. "Can I take it from you then?"
Jules nodded ever so slightly. Donna reached out and slipped the gun from the other woman's cold fingers. She held it behind her knowing Max would slip in enough to take it from her. Once relieved of the gun, Donna returned her attention to Jules. She couldn't be sure if the calm detached way Jules was talking was an indication of shock setting in or a conscious attempt on Jules's part to protect herself from what had happened but Donna knew it was only a matter of time before the other woman's legs gave out on her. "Okay, good. That's good Jules. I've got the gun now. Come on let's sit down on the bed. I'll untie you and you can tell me how badly you are hurt. Then we'll get you downstairs to Sam. Okay?"
Jules moved the couple of steps from the nightstand to the bed stiffly as if every move hurt. Donna helped her to sit and then untied the string binding her wrists together. Donna winced when she saw how tightly the string, the drawstring from Jules's shirt from all appearances, had bitten into her wrists. It wouldn't be long before she was sporting nasty bruises on both wrists. As soon as her wrists were free, Jules automatically flexed her fingers trying to restore feeling.
Donna switched her com off for a moment. "Jules, right now, radio's off and it's just you and me. Is there anything you want to tell me while it's just us. Anything about what that man might have done to you?" She knew going off com would frustrate Ed who was relying on her for updates but felt that Jules was more important in that moment.
She didn't have to say the word for Jules to know what she was talking about. She shuddered but shook her head. "It was just physical. I got away before he could do anything else. He made it clear that he was going to if he caught me again. When he came in the bedroom I pulled the gun from the nightstand. I shot him before he could do anything else."
"Okay, that's good." Donna believed her; her clothes while disheveled didn't appear to have been ripped or torn to indicate something of a sexual nature had taken place. But after listening to the 9-1-1 tape, she knew it would have only been a matter of time before that changed had he been able to get his hands on her again. Self defense laws could be tricky but she didn't think there was any doubt that in this case, Jules met both the requirements for this to be a justified case of self defense. She turned her radio back on. "Ed, can you hear me?"
"I hear you." The frustration that he hadn't been able to hear her just as evident.
"You know how this goes, we've got to keep the second floor and the attic secured until it can be processed. But Jules needs Sam. Have him meet us at the top of the stairs."
"Copy that."
- FP - FP - FP -
Sam had been poised on Patches's favorite step from the moment he'd entered the house bursting with the need to storm the rest of the stairs and check on Jules. Fear, guilt, a little sense of duty, and Spike's tight grip on his arm held him in place though. Why hadn't he realized it had been a trick to lure him away? He knew why; years spent protecting Natalie and bailing her out of one jam after another made this particular night seem just like one more thing to add to the Natalie Braddock's 1001 Ways to Inconvenience Your Brother list.
The whole drive to the gym he'd mentally been berating his sister for once again having the bad timing to interrupt when things were going great for him and Jules. He'd been ready to remind her of that little card he'd given her when it became clear she was going to be staying in town. The card that gave her all the information she needed to use the roadside assistance her CAA membership he'd bought her offered instead of depending on big brother all the time. He wouldn't really say it to her because as her big brother it was his job to protect her and he took his job seriously. He knew if he fussed about something minor she'd assume she'd couldn't call on him for something major either.
She'd picked up on his annoyance anyway as he changed the tire. She kept apologizing profusely saying she'd called for a tow truck but the dispatcher had told her it could take an hour for one to arrive and she didn't feel comfortable waiting in the deserted parking lot of the now closed gym for that long, especially after what had happened to Jules. His annoyance faded slightly with that and he set about changing the tire. It was only after he was picking the flat tire up to put it in her trunk that he saw the reason the tire had gone flat in the first place. His heart skipped a beat and his breath caught in his throat as he remembered as similarly slashed tire. But who was the target? Jules or Natalie? He tossed the tire in the trunk and reached for his cell phone. When Jules's cell went immediately to voice mail and the home phone went unanswered, he knew the answer. He'd ordered Natalie to go straight home and lock herself in the apartment until either he or Spike got there and took off for home.
He didn't think he'd taken a proper breath until Ed had relayed that Jules was okay and they could at least enter the house. Now as he stood on his perch on the stairs, he found he still couldn't relax completely until he could see her for himself, wrap his arms around her, know for sure what happened. What was taking so long?
"Sam," Ed's voice was the picture of calm, years of training allowing him not to express his inner emotions. "Donna and Jules are coming down. Meet them at the top of the stairs but no further. You can't disturb the crime scene."
Sam's stomach churned as he launched himself further. A crime scene. Their house was a crime scene. Again. How many times now? He was already to the top of the stairs when Donna and Jules emerged from the bedroom. His vision tunneled so that all he saw was the woman he loved. She shunned Donna's attempts to support her as she walked painfully and stiffly toward him. She was hurt but in one piece. He tried to take assurance in the fact that she could walk away from whatever happened on her own power but his eyes couldn't leave her bruised and battered face. The bruise on the side of her face reminded him of the time she'd pretended to be one of the protesters rioting in the street after the Grealy verdict was read earlier that year. Reminded him of the fury he had to hide at the thought of her being manhandled in such way until he'd gotten her home that night and could curl up beside her on the bed as she pressed a cold pack to the bruise.
As soon as she was close enough, he pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. He could feel her body shaking and wondered how much of it was due to pain and how much to shock. Nothing else mattered in that moment other than knowing she was safe in his arms.
Donna touched his shoulder. "Sam, it's probably a good idea to let EMS check her out."
He nodded and leaned back so he could look Jules in the face. Her expression was unreadable for once even to him. He kissed her forehead, which seemed like the one place that was untouched. "Jules, you want me to carry you down the stairs?"
She shook her head. The truth was every step jarred her sore ribs but she welcomed the pain that she felt because it reminded her of the pain she wasn't feeling. The injuries that hadn't happened despite his best attempts. She'd fought back and because of that she'd might have been injured but she hadn't had to relieve a woman's worst fears a third time. She would leave her house on her own power because she had to for her own peace of mind. After that she wouldn't fight them if they insisted she go to the Emergency Room to be checked out even though the idea of cold impersonal hands poking and prodding her turned her stomach. She'd tell them what they needed to know about what had happened first in the attic and then in the bedroom even though she wanted to just block the entire incident from her mind completely. She'd give whatever they needed her to give until she had nothing more to give. Whatever it took to put an end to it so she could then curl up in Sam's arms and feel safe enough to let herself feel the fear and pain she was trying to shove down where not even she knew it existed.
Sam nodded and kept his arm around her waist as they slowly descended the stairs together. He quickly began to suspect she had a rib injury from the short gasps and almost inaudible grunts of pain she made with each step. Medics with a stretcher met him at the foot of the stairs. He was glad to see that once again it was Steve and Mindy who had responded to the call. Steve knew about what happened to Jules before and would be understanding and gentle. Jules looked at the flat stretcher with a frown. Her earlier promises to herself that she wouldn't protest taking a quick ding.
"I'm not lying down on that thing."
Sam smiled in spite of himself and the situation. Her voice was quiet and detached but her word choice told him she wasn't broken completely. Steve nodded, he knew what battles to fight when it came to the woman he'd tried unsuccessfully to win the heart of. "No problem. Mindy, let's raise it up. You can sit on it instead."
Once she was sitting on the stretcher and Mindy was fastening the straps around her, Sam pulled Steve aside just slightly. "Steve, I have a favor to ask…"
"Sam, you don't have to ask. You can ride with us. I'm not going to keep the two of you apart. I know it'll be better for the both of you to stay together."
Sam nodded grateful that Steve recognized that but it wasn't what he was about to ask. "Look, I know you have safety protocols and that gloves are one of them. But they freak her out right now; they remind her of the guy who attacked her a few days ago. I know I can't expect everyone to not use them but you know her…"
"I can't not wear gloves even if I know the victim. I could lose my job. But…" Steve frowned and looked over at Mindy. "Min, put down on her file that Jules has a latex allergy." The female medic gave him a weird look knowing nothing had been said about an allergy a few days ago. But she nodded anyway and made the notation. Steve turned back to Sam. "Doesn't help much in the field. Our latex alternatives still have the same feel as the others but once she's in the ER they've got more choices, some that have a different feel altogether. I can make sure they use those. For now, I'll ride in the back with the two of you and I'll try to limit what contact I have to have with her."
Sam nodded his thanks. He followed as the two medics pushed the stretcher back out to the ambulance. Jules didn't say anything else and wouldn't meet their eyes as the ambulance pulled off.
"Do we know what we're dealing with?" Steve looked back at her his voice low but it still carried in the small space. This time Sam shook his head.
"You're dealing with someone who can hear perfectly and is capable of answering." The response was so totally Jules that both men shook their heads and Steve smiled ruefully. He hadn't been so sure she was really aware of her circumstances. She frowned and looked at him defiantly. "How about asking me?"
Steve scooted closer to her on the bench. "Okay, then, what are we dealing with, Jules. Where are you hurt?"
"I don't think anything's broken. Just bruised to hell and back. My wrists and the right side of my face hurt the worst; everything else is just sore."
Steve nodded, looking at her wrists without touching them. She had a deep indention running around her wrists where whatever she'd been tied up with had left it's mark. It was an angry red with abrasions on either side where she'd more than likely tried to break free of the bindings. He could see why they hurt. Then he looked with a clinical eye at her jaw. It was bruised and swollen but the fact that she was talking suggested it wasn't broken. The cut on her cheek was jagged but not deep; it was barely bleeding anymore. He looked in her eyes; he'd never been able to read anything into her expression the way he'd wanted to. Now was no different. He couldn't see if she was hiding anything else she didn't want to say or if she was being completely honest.
"Okay, can you define everything else more specifically? The better information I can give the ER doc, the less he'll have to probe."
Again Jules shuddered. "Ankle, Knee, ribs." She looked at Sam and seeing the worry in his eyes felt the need to add. "No sexual assault."
Sam let out a relieved breath. He reached over and put a hand on the top of her head, not sure he could touch her anywhere else that wouldn't hurt. "Jules, Donna said the subject was neutralized. Is he…"
"I killed him. I didn't have a choice. I wasn't going to be his victim. Wasn't going to let him hurt me. I killed him and don't ask me to feel bad about it. Because I can't and I won't."
Sam leaned over and brushed a kiss to the side of her head. "Wouldn't dream of it."
- FP - FP - FP -
Ed looked at Donna as she joined him in the living room. She frowned. "Before you ask, I don't know the full story. It didn't seem right to press her for details. I do know that he followed her into the bedroom with intent to do bodily harm and even with her hands tied managed to get hold of a gun. The shot heard on the 9-1-1 call was hers. Her assailant is dead. She indicated that he was the one who assaulted her a few days ago."
"Can't say I'm sorry to hear he's dead. Bastard breaks in not once but twice. Tell me she's not going to face charges over this. It's self defense. Anybody can see it." Ed folded his arms across his chest.
Donna nodded. "I agree. His intent was clear and I don't see where she had any other choice. My recommendation is that no charges be filed at all; it would be a waste of every one's time and she doesn't need to the added trauma. I'll have to get her statement but based on the evidence, I don't think the prosecutor will give me any flack about it."
"Well at least with Dawson dead Jules doesn't have to worry about him causing her any more grief. He's done nothing but make her life miserable since he was released from prison."
"You think you could give a positive ID?" Donna asked the two men. She couldn't touch the body until the coroner arrived to see if he was carrying any ID. They nodded and followed her up the stairs to the bedroom. The first thing that Ed noticed was that Jules had made a perfect shot right between the man's eyes. Then Spike frowned.
"We got a problem. That ain't Dawson. I don't know who he is but it's not Jules's uncle."
- FP -
Author's Note 2: Okay, so I know we still don't really know what happened in the attic or the bedroom but I felt this chapter needed to be told from a more SRU viewpoint. The next chapter will reveal what happened. As far as the self defense laws, I wanted to make sure that I got the law right especially sense different areas have different laws. This is what I found when searching Canadian Self-defense laws. Seemed to fit the circumstance. Any mistakes in the law were not intentional I promise.
2) Every one who is unlawfully assaulted and who causes death or grievous bodily harm in repelling the assault is justified if
(a) he causes it under reasonable apprehension of death or grievous bodily harm from the violence with which the assault was originally made or with which the assailant pursues his purposes; and
(b) he believes, on reasonable grounds, that he cannot otherwise preserve himself from death or grievous bodily harm.
