A/N: Think of this as a missing scene, something cut for time set at the end of 4x10 The Cost of Business. I am really working to keep this within canon. Also I apologize if there are any typos or glaring mistakes (though SYuuri was kind enough to help me from making a big error). I was in a car accident about a week ago and I am on very strong painkillers. Remember to buckle up, it totally saved my life. Also to all those amazing people that reviewed this or Jules Day or alerted or favorited I am so, so grateful. That support means so, so much. ~Delysia

Over

Set at the end of 4x10 The Cost of Business

Part Three: Seize

Sam needs to go home.

He hurries, taking his shower in the four minute window that use to assure some semblance of hot water when he was in JTF2. Quick, hot, soap and scrub and then rinse it all away, letting the memories of the day fall down the drain. Then it's civilian clothes and boots that stay laced. He lingers as he ties them, Spike is telling a joke that he forces himself to laugh at. Sam is not even sure if it has a punchline. He sits on the bench, another minute, maybe two, and then he can go home. He needs to be quick but not suspiciously so.

He is running, practically hiding out. He was never the type of guy to hide, even as a child he didn't avoid his sisters as much as yell at them to stay out of his room. But here he is, a grown man, and all he wants to do is get out of here before Jules has time to finish her shower.

It's stupid but honestly he just isn't up for the talk tonight. It was supposed to be their day off. He was going to take Jules to breakfast and tease her about how she puts strawberry jelly on her sausage. It was going to be a good day.

So much for that.

He knows her, she is going to want to discuss this. She is going to dissect Greg's words, the nuances of his speech, analyze what the tilt of their boss' head means for them and him and Sam just can't. He has never been good at profiling and he isn't going to practice on Sarge because he knows where it will lead.

How long can we keep doing this?

Not long enough. Not forever and anything less than that is simply not long enough.

They are treading water. That's all they are doing. Not really moving forward, not really moving back. Simply keeping their heads above the water. He knows it's dumb, dangerous even. Sam knows he should force an action, make an ultimatum and save them both the heartache this will surely cause.

But he can't.

Not when she looks at him with those big doe eyes and his heart thunders in his chest. It's more than a little frightening how much she means to him. He is pretty sure that having your world wrapped up in one person is just plain stupid, too much resting on her. Still, he doesn't have a choice. He thinks of her as his and feels breathless with awe. He sees her and he feels happy. Really happy. That sort of happiness that starts in his toes and he can't stop smiling. It's cheesy and corny and he can't help it. He loves her; is in love with her. And for this moment she is his.

Maybe the pain he know he will face later is small penance for being with her now. Carpe Diem, isn't that what they always say? All he wants is to hold her a little bit longer, breath in the strawberry scent of her shampoo and just be grateful that this didn't end today. That they still have their jobs. They still have each other. Worry about the rest later. Deal with it when it comes tumbling down.

But somehow he can't picture Jules just letting it be. She needs answers. He thinks thinks this is probably the only time Jules didn't really have a plan. She always has an outline for everything, how it is going to work, where she is heading. Except for them. It's the blind leading the blind really. It's that leap of faith that makes it different, better, stronger than last time. They can make it through this, they just need some time.

So tonight he just needs to go home, alone. Get out of headquarters without her suggesting coffee. Give them some space, just a break so there are no hasty decisions. Those have never ended well for Sam and he feels like they are barreling towards another one.

Twenty more seconds.

Spike's hair is still wet from his shower. Chances are good that Jules will have just started hers. At HQ she is faster than when she uses all the hot water at his apartment but still she takes longer than the guys. She doesn't sing here either, something that almost makes up for the fact that Sam often has to take a nearly glacier shower after she is done, her sweet voice wafting from the steam filled room.

Ten seconds.

He should be fine, now to just casually walk out and hope she doesn't show up later demanding answers. He doesn't have any to give her. He just wants to keep her. Is that really too much to ask?

"Hey guys, I'm out." He closes his locker and the metal rings out. Only six paces to the locker room door and twelve to the elevator and then he can go home and pretend this day never happened.

"Where you running off to, Sam?" Ed calls out. Sam still has fifteen more steps to go.

Damn it. If there is anyone Sam know he should be careful with it's Ed. Sarge might have faith but he doubts Ed would feel the same, probably out them to Dr. Toth himself.

As much as they are a family he knows Ed thinks of them as a team first. Sam is pretty sure given his way that he would have kept Donna. Let Jules be relegated to Team Three or a desk job or take her package early. He wants them to be an effective machine. It makes sense. Ed has his own family. He didn't exactly cut Wordy any slack and they were best friends, brothers. Sam can't imagine how he would react to finding out about him and Jules

"Got plans." Simple lies are always the best, passive movements. This is how he got by behind enemy lines. This is how he gets out when he needs to.

"Cancel them." Ed commands. Sam sighs, sending him a pained look. "Hey, I don't care. You can see whatever gorgeous skirt you are chasing tomorrow night. This is important. Cancel them."

Sam nods. Greg is watching him over Ed's shoulder, an admonishing gaze telling him not to push. Sam knows he can't say no, not to Ed. Did that once and had to give away too much information in the process. Can't make that mistake again.

He sits on the bench, listening as Ed yells at Spike to hurry up. What's the rush, he doesn't know. He can't imagine how going to The Goose is needed tonight. It was a good day, no lethal action required, no one shot. It was a clean take down. They only go out when it's not, when its hard and messy and they need to band together to get through it all.

Today was a good day. Would have been better if he had gotten to take Jules to breakfast, if he has just stayed up stairs. His mom's voice echos in his head, 'no use crying over spilled milk'.

"Come on, Scarlatti!" Ed's voice booms.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Spike is hastily dressing, pulling a shirt over his head as he speaks. "We are making her buy right?"

"Is that all you can think about?" Greg asks, humor in his voice.

Sam stomach clinches, of course. Of course, they know. He wonders when Sarge told them, maybe before the double-double home delivery. He can't think of when he could have told them after. Of course, it's important they go out. It's for Jules, not everyday a member of the team get Law Enforcement Professional of the Year. So much for avoiding and laying low, for thinking she would somehow be more successful at dodging the invitation.

Sam keeps his face passive but he wants to groan. He does not need this. Does not need her to be reminded again how much she loves the job, loves her team. She does not need another reason to see that this thing with them is just not worth it. That he is the one thing that could blow her world apart.

"Hey, I still think she is getting off easy. This seems like a hazing opportunity. Pull a few pranks, maybe hit her with a little cream cheese, make sure she isn't getting too big for her britches."

"I wouldn't if I were you, Spikey." Ed warns but there is a playful tone to his voice. He is practically goading Spike to do something dumb and have Jules kick his ass for the attempt. And Sam knows she would.

"She doesn't scare me." And despite the tension in his stomach, Sam find himself chuckling at Spike's false bravado. He is a trained solider and Jules scares the crap out of him, Spike doesn't stand a chance.

"That's because you weren't on the team when Rolie tried it. Guy didn't walk the same for a month."

A familiar voice speaks, causing the team to look to the door. "I'd say a year."

"Officer Wordsworth," Ed greets. "Glad to see you showed."

"Wouldn't miss it. Can't let her forget the little people."

It's odd and yet not, seeing Wordy again. Out in the field, out on a call, it felt like old times. Standing in the locker room it just reminds Sam how easily they have drifted apart. He hasn't even seen Wordy since he joined Gangs and Guns, that was weeks ago, their little family is more fragile than they seem to realize. Sam wonders if Ed and Wordy still do monthly cookouts together, if they are still best friends. They are discussing Wordy's boss at G&G, so he doubts it. No wonder Jules is so protective, a bad wind could scatter them apart.

"So where is she? Still taking too long in the shower?" Wordy asks, and Sam notices that he instinctively moves to stand by the locker that was once his. It's makes Sam want to hit something, this whole day does.

Raf replies and it's unsettling him interacting with Wordy, like two pieces that don't even belong to the same puzzle. It reminds Sam of the comic books he used to read, the ones where if two people were in the same place it could rip the space-time continual apart. "I think she has it out for team two, wants to waste all the hot water. Dylan called her a babe the other day; asked how team two could get someone that hot to look at during workouts."

What? When did this happen? Why didn't he know this? Sam is personally going to kick his ass the next time he sees that batman reject. He is already brainstorming ways to make him hurt, rookies should not be so forward. There is a gnat in his ear, reminding of him calling her a sexy sniper chick but Sam ignores it. Dylan needs to learn respect, for team one, for a senior officer, and to start averting his eyes whenever Jules is within fifteen feet of him. Punk ass kid.

"Sam?" Greg's voice echoes, bringing Sam out of his daydream, a mental repeat of ripping off Dylan's head playing over and over in his mind like his old Mortal Kombat game, the team gone and Sarge holding the door open. "You coming?"

He nods and makes his way out with long strides, only to stop short. The guys clutter the small space between the locker room and the desk and Ed is standing by the elevator with his arms crossed over his chest, a silent dare for anyone to attempt to move pass him. Is this a celebration or an ambush? Probably both, Sam muses. Not like Jules is exactly the best at handling compliments. Sure, she can talk a good game about herself, but when someone else does it she can't handle it. She drops her head, her ears tinging pink and then she tucks a piece of hair behind her ear. It's sexy as all hell and Sam has exploited the heck out of it, whispering sweet nothings in her ear to watch her too-cute-for-words reaction.

He hopes he gets the chance to do it again. He's not going to say his isn't worried about them, he is. He is terrified.

"Guys." Jules nearly plows into Sam as she tries to exit and it takes all his willpower not to reach for her.

She is in pink which he loves. She straddles the line between being a kickass SRU officer, unflattering cool pants and cap, and still feminine. Sam just loves how she transforms. One moment she is calmly taking a sierra shot and then she comes out, hair curled and hands lotioned and is so stunning he can barely believe she is his. A perfect blend of soft and strong. The pink in question is a fitted tee and Sam can't help but notice that it looks amazing on her, everything looks amazing on her. Her hair is down, soft and natural with bangs that barely brush her eyebrows. God, she is beautiful.

He really doesn't deserve her. Karma must not have gotten around to him yet.

"Wordy." It's a greeting as she moves through the throng of them blocking her exit. "What's going on, guys?" She is eying them and their self satisfied smiles before turning to Sam who offers her an exaggerated shrug. He isn't sure if he is even suppose to know or not. He needs to play this safe. Feign ignorance.

"Something you would like share with the group?" That is Ed, his crossed arms send off invisible warnings like a flashing danger light above his hairless head.

Jules' eyes shift slightly and Sam can see her trying to puzzle them out. "Not that I can think of..."

"That's not what Sarge said."

Oh no. Sam watches as she swallows the smile she wore a moment ago. She is already jumping to the worse case scenario and Sam think that maybe they are more alike than he thought. Two peas in a paranoid pod.

"Yeah?" Her voice is a breath too high, her eyes moving a beat too quickly. She is better than this, Sam knows she can lock it away better than this. The stress must really be getting to her.

"Don't think she wants us to tell us," Wordy offers, his hands in his front pockets. Sam doesn't remember that from before, maybe it's a way to hide the symptoms, to make them less real. Wordy is a statue, stone stable and ridiculously reliable. It's just not fair, not even close. He should be here, not stuck at Guns and Gangs because of a tremor. It sucks.

"Probably wants to get out of buying." Spike's fingers are constantly moving, practically drumming out a beat on Winnie's desk. He is a child hyped up on too many Pixie Stixs, means well but can get a little carried away. The mischievous younger brother Sam never had; he requested one but his mom only brought him sisters.

Raf offers a smile, warm and genuine. "Shouldn't we be buying for her?" Now that is the brother Sam would have picked, calm under pressure, quiet, respectful. It's probably too late to trade in Natalie.

The out crying of four voices simultaneously trying to explain that is not how they do things drown out any real meaning. The SRU has it's own traditions, customs passed down from vet to rookie. You buy when you are shot, get a promotion, or retire. The team buys for you after your first lethal. The rest of the time it is every man for themselves. Sam figures Raf will learn them in time, traditions bypass common sense.

The moment of chaos is all it takes for Jules to piece it all together, Sam taking in the way her shoulders relax as it clicks together. She is watching the Boss when it happens and Greg's wearing a smile that seems to droop at the corners, something painted on. He is supposed to be proud of her. Sam doesn't know if he is anymore.

He should be. Jules is amazing. The rest, the stuff with them- it shouldn't negate that. Sam knows it kind of does anyway. So much for the substitute paternal figure. Maybe that's what made it worse, made Sarge yell at them like children who had been naughty. He had wanted to turn a blind eye, to just let them be, to let her be happy. Sam is pretty sure Sarge wouldn't put his neck on the line if it was just him.

She is the favorite daughter by default. Maybe that's why he is keeping their secret, keeping the faith. Maybe it's their common yet vastly separate history. Sarge's past with the bottle, Jules' own dad is 12 steps behind him with a steady case of denial next to his six pack. Maybe that's why. Maybe... Maybe he should leave the profiling to Jules.

Carpe Diem, wasn't that going to be his new motto?

Actually wasn't it just to hide out tonight and seize tomorrow instead? He can't remember, the day is starting to drag, the edges becoming fuzzy and blurred. He still sort of wants eggs.

Then Jules is speaking, teasing the guys about her promotion, offering them lessons for a fee. Maybe they need to get down to the range a little more often, get out of the truck an actually negotiate. And somewhere along the way between the back and forth banter her smile becomes real.

That scares him.

Happiness is hard to compete with when all he can offer her is an uncertain future and an apartment that his sister his practically claimed squatters rights on.

They tuck themselves into the elevator as Jules rags them about probably needing to take the stairs so they can catch up to her. She is best under self directed praise, they cut her down and she builds herself up. It says a lot about her childhood.

"It's good to see she isn't letting it go to her head." Sam can't resist, she hates to be ignored. "Hey Spike, I want in."

"What are you guys planning?" Her eyes narrow, lethal under her bangs but she is looking at him, for a moment that is everything.

"Planning? Nothing..." He is all smiles and big blue 'who me?' eyes. The innocent face worked for years on his mom, still does from time to time.

"Yeah, nothing," Spike echos, a grin on his lips as he keeps his eyes trained to the numbers illuminating their descent.

The doors open with a chime and they make their way outside, Spike's voice shouting "shotgun' as he and Raf head to pile into Wordy's minivan.

Jules' steps slow and Sam instinctively matches her pattern. Her voice is low and soft. "Coming over later, right?"

He almost flinches at her words. It's the last thing he was expecting, thing he was hoping most for. Being prepared does not lead one to hope too hard, not with her, not after last time. He wants to ask her to repeat herself, maybe tease her about needing a night off, joke about not wanting to wake up constantly to the high speed whir of her blender, anything that will show that they are okay but then she is gone. A flash of pink and brown and she is forcing Spike out of his chosen seat and bullying him into the back.

A chuckle of escaped tension bubbles from Sam's lips as he watches the scene with a smile before doing a quick jog to secure himself a ride. He is not sure where this is going, doesn't even know how tonight is going to play out but for now he is happy and she is smiling and that's all that matters.

Carpe Diem indeed.

To Be Continued...

A/N: So... this is my first venture into a Team moment. I would love some idea of how I did, even if something is off. Feel free to tell me. Reviews are love. ~Delysia