A/N: I should probably say that this story came to me after listening to the song "Dead Man Walking" by WAR*HALL. I do not own the rights to that song, nor do I own the rights to Flashpoint or its characters.
As the couple walked into HQ, boisterous laughter could be heard from the briefing room. An all too familiar voice was present among them. Jules stopped in her tracks, tears welling up in her eyes, silently cursing all of the hormones.
"Jules, you okay?" Concern was etched into Sam's features. He cocked his head to the side as he pulled her into him, kissing the top of her head.
"Boss...". Jules trailed off when her voice cracked. "I don't even know why I am crying. This is stupid."
Sam knew better than to chuckle at her rambling. He had made that mistake early on in the pregnancy and had paid for it dearly with a night on the couch. As he felt Jules' body relax a little, he loosened his grip around her. His arm slung over her shoulders, he guided them into the briefing room.
Jules did her half waddle as she made her way to him, happy tears still welled in her eyes. "Hey Sarge, we miss you around here bad." Her words muffled as she embraced her surrogate father.
"Hey Jules. Look at you. You look better and better each time I see you. How's that baby doing? Not causing too much trouble for you huh?"
As if the growing baby knew it was being talked about, a little foot made a very clear outline against Jules' shirt. Greg poked his finger into the small foot, chuckling as it suddenly disappeared.
"Yea, we're doing good Sarge. Kid is going to be a fighter I think. We seem to be taking kickboxing classes." She smiled down at her bump, before remembering one of their earlier stops. Turning to Sam, she gave him a soft smile, "Hey, can you go grab the gift for sarge from your truck please?"
As Sam walked out to his truck, Spike's eyes lit up with a spark of joy. "Present? Do I get one too?"
Winnie lightly smacked her boyfriends chest as she laughed and looked at Jules. "Ignore him."
"I usually do." Jules deadpanned.
"Your words, they hurt." Spike clutched his chest in mock anguish, earning a round of laughs from everyone gathered around.
Sam walked back in, carrying the bag for Sarge, as Jules pulled out the rest of the packages she had in her bag, handing them out to each of the members of Team One, including Winnie.
Jules looked at everyone with a huge smile, "Okay, so we found out what we are hav- Spike, stop digging around in the bag trying to figure it out- so we got you each a little something to announce it"
Each of the members of Team One shared looks of excitement before Spike got too excited.
"Can we open them now?"
"Yes, now you can open it Spike." Sam chuckled as he pulled Jules into his side.
The guys pulled out gray t-shirts that said 'I'm my niece's favorite uncle', while Leah and Winnie had shirts that said 'I'm my niece's favorite aunt'
Winnie let out a squeal of excitement and rushed over to hug Jules and Sam.
"No way! This is amazing you two." Greg reached out his hand towards Sam, who bent down and pulled him in to a quick hug, Spike. Ed, and Leah joining in.
"So... do you guys have a name yet? If not, you should name her Michaelangelina. Actually, even if you do have a name picked out, you should scrap it and take my suggestion." Spike grinned wildly. His dimples on full display until Winnie smacked her hand against his chest hard enough to knock the air from his lungs.
"Spike, did you really just suggest we name the baby after you?" Sam queried, a mischievous glint in his eyes. He looked over at Jules, seeing the wheels turn in her mind on how to get him back. Revenge was best served cold, so they both kept their mouths shut.
"Spiky, sometimes I wonder why we let you out of the truck at all." Ed laughed and shook his head.
"You let him out because he is a geek with combat skills." Wordy laughed as he walked into the briefing room. "Jules, looking as beautiful as ever. Sam treating you well?" Pulling her into a hug, then moving on to hug the rest of the group.
After getting his hug, Sam excused himself to run back out to his truck to get Wordy's shirt to give to him.
"Kevin James Wordsworth, rising star at guns and gangs. What can SRU do for you?" Happy to see his best friend, Ed slung his arm over Wordy's shoulders.
"I come bearing some intel. We are trying to take down a pretty nasty drug ring, The La Pas gang. They are extremely violent, and are targeting cops and their families. Hold the family hostage, get the cop to feed them intel on warrants, raids, and even help keep them from getting locked up. They have actually targeted a few SWAT officers from other provinces. The gang started in Vancouver. They usually go for the newer guys, younger guys who have a lot of years left on the force. Also go after family members that are vulnerable. We just wanted to give you guys a heads up." Wordy sighed, clearly bothered by the intel he gave them, his heart heavy as he looked over to Jules. "We have also found out that if the wife of the cop is pregnant, they usually kill them right away. We don't know why, but they do. So far we have no reports of them operating here, but its only a matter of time before they do."
Jules instinctively placed her hands protectively around her stomach. So many scenarios running through her head. She knew she wouldn't go down without a fight. She also knew that Sam would fly into over protective mode at this information. Spotting her husband coming back into the briefing room with the gift for Wordy in his hand, she smiled up at him. "Thanks for the intel Wordy. We also have a little present for you."
Taking the offered bag from Sam's outstretched hand, he pulled out the shirt and read it. "No way. A girl? I am so happy for you both. Shel will be over the moon. She will probably have an entire wardrobe for you soon. I know she is missing our girls being that little, so she may also offer to babysit whenever you need it." He gave the couple another hug, before turning to the rest of Team One. "Alright guys, I have to get going. It was good to see you guys. Please keep that intel in your minds. We need to get these guys taken down soon."
After Wordy left, Ed glanced at his watch. At this point they were officially ten minutes late for shift. "Alright team, lets go get changed, then we will hit the range for an hour, then patrol day." He was headed towards the locker rooms when Lukas, one of their temporary members until Team One was whole again, came running in.
Running his hand through his golden blond hair, his blue eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep. "Ah shit, sorry I'm late Ed. Ellie was struggling with some Braxton hicks contractions, and of course Kira just wanted to play and I lost track of time. Then I had to drop Kira off at my moms place, and I'm sorry, it won't happen again."
Ed just smiled and patted the younger man on the back. "It's all good. You have to take care of your family. I get it. Don't sweat it. We are getting changed and then hitting the range for a bit."
"So, any advice to give me for these last few months of pregnancy with Jules before she goes in to labor?" Sam glanced over at the man sitting beside him in the passenger seat of the SUV.
"Just do whatever she asks, and don't try to say you understand her pain when she is in labor. It also gets easier if you guys go for another after this one. Labor is also really kind of gross. You should stay at the head of the bed until the baby is out. Like the miracle of life is great and all, but that process is not pretty."
Sam gave a snort "Noted." Coming to a stop at a Timmy's, he looked over at the younger man. "I take it Ellie is keeping you up at night too?"
"Yea, but hopefully this baby comes soon. She is thirty-seven weeks today, so we are nearing the end."
"You want a double double?" Sam pulled his wallet from his pocket and pulled out some cash.
"That would be awesome. I don't have any cash on me, can I buy next round?" Lukas looked apologetically at Sam.
"Yeah, no worries. You hang here, I will be back in a minute." Sam shut the door and headed across the parking lot into the coffee shop.
Lukas settled back into his seat, closing his eyes to try and get a few minutes of rest while he could. His phone chirping caused him to let out a groan. His wife's name flashed on the screen, and he smiled wondering what his wife was craving now, or maybe, hopefully, she was in labor. As he answered the phone, his smile quickly faded and the contents of his stomach rolled and were forcibly expelled as soon as he opened the door.
A strangled cry was heard in the background. Lukas' blood ran like ice through his veins. Desperately hoping that what was happening was just a bad dream. He thought he had been able to get away, thought he was safe, thought his family was safe..
"So, you thought you could run from us, huh?" The voice on the other end was gruff, one that Lukas would never forget.