A/N: I would have warned people that the ending was coming if I had realized it before I started writing this chapter...But here we are at the end of this story. A while back someone requested a one-shot where Sam meets Jules' brothers...I might write it. No promises, though. I seem to fail colossally at writing things without death and/or blowing stuff up (Siberia really WAS linked to an idea for a humorous fluff-fest(!)) so we'll see. I might be able to manage it if I blow something up. But enough about that...
Thanks for every review/alert/favorite. Hope you follow the story on to the sequel.
At the end of the day, Jules' sentiments ran along the lines of…screw tradition. And so she ended up curled up on her couch with Sam's head in her lap. One hand absently stroked his hair; the other held a bag of frozen broccoli against a dark bruise that had formed on his side. From her vantage, he looked content enough to start purring at any second. Or at least as though he might fall asleep soon. "You ready to talk about it?" she asked. She was sure he'd have nightmares that night and sought to gain some insight into them sooner rather than later.
"You heard me tell Spike," he said, rubbing the side of his face against her lap as though it were an especially comfortable pillow.
"I heard you tell Spike what he needed to hear so he'd beat himself up a little less," she corrected, flipping the bag over so the cooler side rested against his skin.
"I'm not supposed to talk about ongoing investigations. And besides that, I'm fine."
"Sam." She drew out his name until it sounded like the longest single-syllable word in the history of humanity.
He huffed. "We got a call. Shots fired at the residence. Only when we got there, there were no onlookers. Nothing seemed out of place."
"But you got the call for a reason," she deduced.
He nodded slowly. "So we started looking around. Broke off into teams. I got paired with Andrea. We went around the back trying to see if we could get a visual of what was going on inside. The bedroom window was broken. The only open access point in the whole house. We could see the victims. Or their legs, at least. A little more than that. She must've slept in this morning because she was still wearing her nightgown. One of those floor-length ones. It was bunched up a little around her knees. He was dressed. Might've been on his way to work when it happened. They were lying face down on the floor. I could see their hands bound behind their backs. They weren't moving. It was weird."
In the pause where he frowned in concentration, Jules stayed quiet, rather than prompting him. He was on a roll now and would continue at his own pace.
"I relayed the facts while Andrea tried to get their attention from the window. Ed and Raf were still in front of the house, but I could hear Ed backing up Andrea's request to go in. Sarge gave the go-ahead and I helped her through the window. In a flash, she was on the other side of the bed, checking the victims. She reported they were dead. I was watching her as I pulled myself up. She turned him, Henry, over. Said bomb. I hesitated." His voice falters but he continues as though it hadn't. "She let him go. House blew. Up until that point, it was all by the book. Did everything right."
"So I'm sure you said in the debrief…you left some things out, though. You told Spike Andrea screwed up."
"She did. When she realized there was a bomb, she shouldn't have moved the body again. She have kept it still in case she'd tripped something…which she had because she was messing around with bodies she'd already declared were dead. She had no business moving the bodies."
"You're angry at her."
"Stop profiling me," he snapped.
Jules' hand stopped stroking his hair and grabbed a fistful of it.
"Ow…I'm sorry." He muttered the apology.
Her hand went back to stroking. "Why'd you hesitate?"
"I don't know. It felt off. And besides…Sarge hadn't wanted us to go in."
"But I thought…"
"He did. He gave the go-ahead. He tried to stall, though. I could tell he didn't want us going in, but he didn't have a reason to stop us. It was all by the damn book."
"And the book doesn't say anything about going with your gut," Jules concluded.
"Which meant letting Andrea get herself killed. What if the baby had been in the house and he just wasn't near the monitor?" He shuddered. Sometimes it was the what-ifs that really got to a person. "But I couldn't stick around and find out because Nat was in danger and Nat was supposed to be with you tonight and I didn't know where you were for the minute it took Raf to track you down, one of the longest minutes of my life…. And then I knew you were okay and then I thought Natalie was gone just…gone just like that…I mean, God, her voice…seeing her lying there…. It was a lot for one day," he finally admitted.
They were both quiet for a while, each lost in his or her own thoughts. Sam was thinking of how he could have made sure his team got home safely. Jules was thinking she should have been there to make sure everyone had gotten home that day. If she was honest, which she was, everyone she really cared about had made it home. She barely knew Andrea aside from a couple stray comments from the guys and the inferences she made from the other woman's even making it onto Team One. She knew being in her presence made Andrea nervous, so she'd kept their interactions brief, few, and far between. That alone should've worried her. Made her not trust the other woman to have her team's collective backs.
"Ow, Jules? What'd I do now?"
"Nothing, sorry." She stopped pulling and went back to stroking.
He caught her hand and pulled it to his lips. "Hey…it's okay."
"Who you tellin'? It was a lot for you, not me. I didn't get blown up."
"I didn't get blown up."
"I didn't almost lose a sister because I messed up on a call that happened months ago."
"She's your sister, too. And you didn't mess up. You did everything right."
"Funny how that seems to be the running gag today. Doing everything right getting people killed.
"No, doing things by the book does sometimes." His lips were on her wrist now. "The book doesn't always get it right."
Jules raised an eyebrow as his lips edged higher up her arm. "Somebody needs to tell the author it's up for revision then. Don't hurt yourself…what are you doing?" she asked when he abandoned her arm, presumably because he'd run out of skin that was easily accessible from his position, and turned over onto his side to bury his face in her stomach, which he revealed by lifting the hem of her tank top out of his way.
"Kissing you."
"Oh." She dropped the broccoli on the coffee table, and then unfolded her legs and wiggled until she could stretch her body out along his, then tossed one leg over his thigh and an arm over his shoulder.
"What are you doing?" he asked, no complaint whatsoever in evidence on his face.
"Mmm…" She stretched lightly, pressing her body against his. "Borrowing your body heat so I can sleep." She laughed when he growled, then kissed him with enough passion to let him know she was only kidding.
"Hey…don't you know it's bad luck to—" Ed started to ride Sam only to be interrupted by Jules' hand suddenly blocking his view.
"Talk to the hand…it doesn't have any ears, but it'll have to do. Besides, Sarge wanted us both here before the wedding," Jules informed him as she walked into the briefing room where Raf was already waiting.
"Yeah…what she said," Sam endorsed with a smirk as he followed. Both of them were casually dressed. Jules because she was at least going to uphold the tradition of not letting him lay eyes on her dress until the ceremony; Sam because he didn't want to look like an idiot walking around in a tux while she strutted around in a pair of old jeans.
"Hey, I thought we had some downtime?" Spike asked as he walked into the barn.
"We do," Ed assured him, standing by the door. They'd just lost a team member and, as such, were entitled to some time off in addition to the day they'd already squared off in advance in order to attend the wedding. "I don't know what Greg wants," he added, throwing his hands up defensively when questioning eyes swiveled his way.
"He tells you everything," Raf insisted.
"Yeah, not everything," Ed rejoined, flicking his eyes toward Sam and Jules.
"For your own good, Eddy," Greg said, coming up behind his best friend.
Ed grunted when Greg clapped him on the shoulder, and then took a seat.
"Where's Wordy?" Greg asked after taking inventory of his team.
"Right here, sorry." The man in question brushed past Greg and tilted his head to the side. "Isn't it bad luck…?"
Ed shook his head. "Drop it. Greg, man, what's going on?"
"I wanted to talk to you guys and I didn't want to put this off until after the honeymooners returned to civilization."
At this, Sam and Jules grinned at each other. They were going to be unreachable for the two weeks they planned to spend hiking in the La Cloche Mountains.
"All right, so, I've been thinking about this ever since Jules left the team, or at least I started to think about it then… Look, I've told you guys before… You're my family. My salvation. I'm standing here as your sergeant right now because of you guys. Not because of the job, even though I love what we do. You guys had faith in me that I didn't have in myself. You restored that faith."
"Sarge…" Jules said softly, tilting her head to the side questioningly. As touching as what he had to say was to hear, she was sitting on pins and needles waiting for him to get to the point.
"I'm not ready to say goodbye to this team. I think we still have a lot of good years left in us—" He leveled a pointed glance directly at Wordy "—and I think we owe it to ourselves as well as each other to put those years to good use. As a team," he clarified in case there was any ambiguity whatsoever.
"Greg, there's no way they'd clear me," Wordy immediately pointed out. He might have left on his own free will, but trying to get back on the team with a pre-existing condition? Wasn't even worth considering.
"Is this why you really wanted to do this before the wedding?" Sam asked accusatorily. "You wanted to talk us out of it so Jules could come back?"
"No, no," Greg waved a hand. "Don't be ridiculous. No," he repeated for emphasis when he caught Jules' reproachful glare. Just hear me out, will you? Please? Everybody?" He waited for every head to nod. "I want to start a new private security company. I'm putting in my two weeks' notice and I want you guys to do the same. I want you all to come with me. We'd be doing the same thing we already do now, or nearly so, it'd just be as private citizens."
"Are you serious?" Spike asked uncertainly. "That'd take a lot of capital…"
"Taken care of," Greg replied cryptically.
"How?" Ed asked.
"Don't worry about it, Eddy, it's legit," Greg assured him. "Now, I've got to ask… Does anybody here feel like Wordy wouldn't have their back if the need arises?"
There were instant, loud responses to the contrary.
"Anybody feel like Sam or Jules would endanger their life or the mission because they'll be married?"
More declarations of 'no' and 'hell no'.
"Then Wordy? Jules? If you're interested, I really want you guys on board with this, and you don't have to take on any roles you don't feel up to fillng. And I'm still waiting on the rest of you, too. New businesses take a lot of hard work and it's gonna be just us for now while we get things up and running. I've got copies of the business plan for you guys, but the gist of it is…"
"I'm in," Ed interrupted.
"But, I haven't even…"
"Count me, too," Wordy seconded.
"We trust you," Spike said. "I'm in, too."
"Same here," Sam said, looking at Jules and thinking it was a no-brainer.
"I'd like to see that business plan, if you don't mind," Jules stated primly.
"She's in," Sam said confidently.
She rolled her eyes at him. "Well duh. I've got to see what we're getting into here for myself, though, since none of you bozos wanna let the man speak." After she had folder in her hands and started flipping through it, she asked absently, "So what are you going to call this thing? Gregory's Angels?" She snorted at her own joke, imagining Ed, Raf, and Spike striking the iconic Charlie's Angels pose. She'd never emasculate Sam that way, even in her head.
"You mock, Jules, but I bet you'd look good in bell-bottoms and platform boots…" Raf remarked, looking at her as if he was trying to picture it in his head.
The other men weren't amused by the jest. If looks could kill, the coroner would be hard pressed to figure out which one had done him in.
"Hey, lighten up, guys…can't you take a joke?"
Jules rolled her eyes. "Boss? The name?"
"I was thinking maybe we should keep it simple. To the point, you know? How does Peace Keepers Inc. sound?"
"I approve." Jules gave Sam a nudge. "Let's go get married…"
"We've got to turn in our two weeks' notice, remember?" he replied.
"Sarge?"
"I'll take care of him."
"Wordy?"
"Got it covered."
"Sam?"
"I guess we're gonna go get married."
Jules had let Natalie fuss over her hair and makeup, complain about her pores, and help her into the satin, rose-embroidered sheath dress before she started to panic. However, the blonde didn't notice the brunette's sudden distress and, feeling rather pleased with her handiwork, left the cabana to take up her position at the end of the aisle.
Greg found his pint-sized protégé wearing out her sandals by pacing in the cabana a few minutes later. He glanced at the tread she'd already created in the sand and asked cautiously, "Everything all right in here?"
Jules stopped pacing and locked her panicked eyes on him. Her mentor. He had to know what to do. "I didn't write my vows. I'm supposed to go out there in a few minutes and I don't have anything to say."
Greg relaxed, then smiled kindly before patiently suggesting, "Let's slow down and take a deep breath."
"I don't have time to slow down!" she lamented. She took a breath anyway because the anxiety was making her feel light-headed. "What am I gonna do, Sarge? What am I gonna say?"
"You are going to walk down that aisle, look Sam in the eye, and tell him what's in your heart. "
"But I didn't practice or anything. What if I mess it up? I'm gonna ruin my own wedding," she fretted.
"He doesn't need you to be perfect. If he's marrying you, I bet he's seen all of you. The good, the bad, the ugly…the imperfect."
Jules snorted. "You'll never hear me praise his sanity for that move."
"Sometimes brilliance and insanity go hand in hand. You'll do fine. You ready for this?" He offered her his arm.
"Do I still look okay?"
"Perfect."
"Okay. I can do this," Jules braced herself as she took his arm. "Thanks for giving me away, Sarge."
"My pleasure," he responded, his eyes glowing with pride as the music began to play.
Together they emerged from the cabana as Izzy practically trotted down the makeshift aisle on chubby toddler legs, dumping flowers in clumps as she went. Jules wanted to scoop her up and hug her to pieces. Her eyes were still glittering with mirth when they met Sam's. She watched him watching her and her worries were forgotten. She realized it didn't matter what she said. It didn't matter what he said either. If they didn't know how each other felt by now, they wouldn't be getting married. They wouldn't be anything more than teammates because anything less than what they were, wouldn't have been worth turning her life upside down for without a second thought.
Everything else just kind of melted away as she was drawn inexorably toward him. Suddenly she was on her tiptoes, brushing her lips against his.
"Ahem…we're not quite at that part of the program yet…"
Chuckles rose from their gathered friends and family.
"Well can we get there, already?" Sam asked, smiling down at Jules, who grinned back.
The celebrant obliged and commenced with the ceremony.
Jules was relieved that Sam didn't pull out a few notecards when it came time for his vows. She didn't care why, or if he had memorized them. She just didn't want to see them.
"Jules…the first time I ever met you, you pointed a gun at me. You've fascinated me ever since. Fascinated, amazed, stunned, awed…. You make me feel those things several times a day without even trying. You also frustrate, confound, and exasperate me on a daily basis. I think that's intentional. But no matter what, one thing doesn't change. I love you. Day in and day out. I can't predict anything about what's going to come next except that that will never change. Whatever else happens, I promise I'll be by your side and we'll be taking it on together."
She gave him another kiss.
The celebrant gave her another reminder.
"Okay. Sam… I was content before I met you. Then you forced your way into my life and I haven't known any real peace until now. Because, even though I didn't realize it, if you were going to be in my life, it had to be for keeps. You're mine now, and I promise to be everything to you that you are to me. An anchor, a partner, a friend, a champion…everything. I love you and I won't let you down."
"The rings?" Sam turned to Spike and Jules to Natalie. Rings collected and exchanged, the celebrant declared, "By the power vested in my, I now pronounce you man and wife. Now you may kiss the bride."
Sam waited for Jules to take the initiative again. Jules waited for him to kiss her like he was supposed to. He finally dipped his head toward her and she met him halfway.
A/A/N:Thanks to KateEals for the Gregory's Angels line and my new-found fondness for parentheses...
Because I'm so sweet (or evil (take your pick)), I'll leave you with a sneak peak at the sequel's summary: Sam and Jules go missing, and nobody knows it but them.