A/N: Hi! Guess who's back? *waves from behind a wall* I'm so sorry guys but I've been super busy lately - I've barely had time to breath. I got accepted to my dream college, I'm working, I'm graduating in 3 weeks, and I'm gonna stop making excuses now... Anywho, I hope you all are still interested in this story! I'm so thankful for those of you who have remained loyal - it will pay off. I promise to finish this story as long as it takes! (Hopefully not long, though!) Well, after such a decade long wait, I really hope this chapter is worth it...considering it's more of a filler chapter.
Present Time, Safe House
"Jules?"
Jules pulls the cellphone from her ear quickly, staring at the inanimate object with a mixture of guarded hope and confusion. She swallows lightly and puts the connection to her husband back to her ear.
"Sam?"
"Yea, Baby, it's me. It's me, Sweetheart. God, I miss you. How are you? The kids? Are you all safe?"
Jules laughs lightly with such unfathomable happiness and relief. "Yeah, Soldier. We're safe. Spike is helping me get them to a safe house." She hesitates, but decides against disclosing anymore information. "You?"
"Can't say. I'm with Matt though and we're good. We're gonna get 'em Baby, don't worry."
"Just be careful, okay? Watch your back. Call me when you can."
"Are the kids awake?"
"Sorry, Baby, they're asleep."
"Okay. Well tell them I love them." A pause. "I better go. Stay safe Beautiful. I love you."
"I love you too, Soldier."
And then the line goes dead. Just like that, her husband is no longer there. He's no longer a whispered word away. No longer with her, but instead a world away. Granted, a world as equally dangerous and shadowed as hers, but still a world nonetheless. And it breaks her heart.
"Sam?" A tear breaks from her eye and rivulets down her face as she demands a response from the device in her suddenly unsteady hands. "Sam?"
He doesn't answer. It doesn't answer. No one and nothing has any answers to the events that have transpired. So she clutches the last connection to her husband. The only real thing in her life at the moment, aside from the two bundles of joy asleep in the cabin's solitary bedroom. Still, her children aren't in any imminent danger. The love of her life is.
Seeing his best friend slowly tearing apart from the seams as she clutches the cellphone, Spike feels the emotional turmoil from the last - has it only been hours? - couple hours fall heavily on his shoulders. But he can't let this strong girl give up now, not after all she's done. He gently pries the cellphone from her hands and smiles reassuringly. "He'll be okay, Jules. Come on, they'll be here soon."
Jules takes a deep, steadying breath, and removes the traces of tears from her face. She immediately locks away her feelings and focuses on the task at hand. "You think they got it?"
Spike frowns at her almost inhuman change, wondering what events in her life have conditioned responses such as the one he just witnessed. However, he decides not to question at the moment and instead turns his eyes to the moonlight peeking through the window.
"Let's hope so."
Present Time, Lewis Young Residence
Team One,
I'm sorry. For the lies. The confusion. Everything. But mostly for this. Spike and I and my kids will disappear. Don't look for us. Don't ask about us. Pretend that none of this ever happened - you'll be safe that way.
Thank you. For being family. For caring. For everything. I love each and every one of you.
Stay warm.
- J
Greg rereads the note carefully and then lifts his head to look at Lew. He raises a questioning eyebrow. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, Boss. I'm positive. I've seen it used before."
Ed purses his lips, crossing his arms against his chest. He dares to be hopeful. "Okay, let me see if I got this straight. You're saying this note is coded?"
Lew nods, taking the note from Greg's hand. "Okay, see how her sentences are in fragments? That's on purpose. They each have different meanings: I'm sorry means she's apologizing. For the lies, if you say it well, can sound like four lives. Meaning me, Ed, Wordy, and Boss. The confusion is what we need to have so this works. Pretend to be confused by everything but mostly by the letter." He pauses.
"Now the next part tells us what happened and what to do. If you notice, in Spike and I and my kids will disappear, she didn't say we will leave the country or something like that. She said disappear because it's an act, so -"
"But why?" Wordy interrupts. "That's the part I don't get."
"Wait for it." Lew grins. "That's the next part. Don't look for us and Don't ask about us are basically saying don't look around or talk. Basically, SRU is rigged. That's how I knew. And Pretend that none of this ever happened - you'll be safe that way is telling us to, again, don't say a word so whoever rigged HQ won't know we're onto them."
Ed raises an eyebrow. "These are some pretty clever techniques. How do you think she learned?" A pause. "How did you learn?"
Lew sighs. "Well, I don't know how Jules learned. But, remember how I was in a gang? We needed a way to communicate in broad daylight so things could go down."
"Is that all, Lew?" Greg speaks up. "About the note?"
"Nope. The next part is the best part." Lew points at the last section of the note. "Here she's thanking us, but instead of using commas, she uses for three times. Which is -"
"Twelve?" Wordy quips.
"Exactly! And then the last sentence stay warm is a run off from stay frosty. We know stay frosty is a cry for help. Basically she's doing just that, asking for our help, but telling us where she is. Twelve degrees up north."
Greg, Wordy, and Ed simply stare at Lew in amazement. Ed finally chuckles slightly and claps the younger man's shoulder.
"Well done."
Wordy grins. "And I thought only Spike was the family genius."
The guys all laugh at that.
"I'll call Holleran so we can head out. Tell him we have a team seminar we must attend or something." Greg supplies once the laughter dies down.
Wordy and Ed nod, both saying they will tell their families the same thing and pack a bag, so they can meet back at Lew's in an hour.
Lew simply stands there, holding the note as the men begin to leave. Suddenly, an ominous feeling of doubt begins to niggle at the insides of his brain. The possibility of error or misinterpretation dawning with the sun.
Greg walks over to him and places a light hand on his shoulder. "We'll be back in an hour, pack a bag. We'll find them."
Lew nods imperceptibly. "Yeah." He squashes down the unsettling feeling and pastes a smile. "Yeah, let's hope so."
Five hours later...
"Are you sure this is 12 degrees north?" Lew asks Ed, the designated driver.
Ed points at the GPS, annoyed at the question.
"Maybe you read the note wrong?" Wordy suggests, glancing at Lew.
Lew frowns, taking out the note and reading it to himself a couple times. He looks up. "No. I'm sure this is the place."
At that, the four men study the surrounding area again. They can only see towering tress and musty moss in the darkness.
"Lew, I doubt they are here. There is no cabin, unless..." Greg trails off, climbing out of the car.
Ed, Wordy, and Lew share a look, wordlessly following Greg's actions. Greg, meanwhile, has his head directly looking up, a smile on his face. "Found them."
All three men look up, smiling too when they see the faint silhouette of a cabin situated between two thick trees above.
"Damn." Ed mutters.
Suddenly, a voice speaks from the woods. "Guys?"
They all turn quickly, searching for the source of the voice. A silhouette steps out from among some trees. "It's Spike."
The three men audibly exhale, each embracing Spike in turn.
"I knew you guys would get it." Spike says.
"It was all Lew." Ed shares, pride in his voice.
"Where's Jules?" Greg asks.
"In the cabin." Spike looks around. "Come on, you guys can follow me up."
The three men nod, each carrying their small packed bag on their shoulders. Spike approaches a tree and, to the guy's surprise pulls a trap door from the trunk. He ushers them in, closing the makeshift door behind him. Inside the relatively wide trunk, the guys faintly see a makeshift ladder leading to the top. They all climb and push open the trap door at the top, revealing a small cozy cabin.
Jules is sitting on a plush couch, but immediately jumps up when she sees them, plowing them each with a hug. "I'm so glad you guys made it. I wasn't sure you guys would get it."
"It was all Lew." Ed repeats, clapping the younger man on the back.
Lew grins at Jules. "Where did you learn to do that, anyways?"
Jules shrugs. "Sam taught me."
A silence descends. It is quiet obvious Sam hasn't been accepted by the men of Team One and his name alone causes friction.
Greg, ever the negotiator, breaks the ice. "Well, why don't we all get situated and hit the hay? I'm sure we're all tired. We can start talking and planning in the morning, once we're all refreshed and recharged."
Jules, quite exhausted herself, nods softly and disappears into the room where her children are sleeping.
The guys watch quietly and then turn to Spike.
"How is she?" Ed asks worriedly
Spike sighs, shaking his head. "Honestly? Not good."
The guys nod solemnly, not really sure how to answer to that. Instead, they all set up their respective sleeping bags around the small living room and settle in for the night.
Hopefully the morning will not only bring light, but answers too.