Hi, guys! Guess what? It's the finale!
Here it is. So, enjoy!
"Angela Morris, thirty-nine. A real estate agent, husband deceased. She lives alone at 53 Hillview Boulevard," Sergeant Parker briefed the team as they sped in their SUVs towards the target house. "Okay, guys. We need to treat this woman with kid gloves. She is in denial, cannot accept her husband's death. There's no history of schizophrenic, but she's definitely disturbed and delusional. Her mental state is fragile right now so we gotta approach her carefully, lest she does something drastic."
"What, I don't get to bitch-slap her?" Jules mumbled.
Sitting behind the wheel, Ed gave her a telling look, to what she said, "Fine I'll be professional. No bitch-slapping."
Amused, the corner of Ed's mouth lifted.
"I can't guarantee of no hair-pulling, though," Jules then added as an afterthought, causing him to chuckle.
"Relax," he said, "Sam knows how to take care of himself."
"Not when he's as weak as a newborn kitten," she muttered under her breath before staying quiet for the rest of the journey.
With their sirens and cherries off, Team One pulled to a stop in front of the Morris's residence, blocking the driveway. They instantly broke into two teams, getting into their routine formations.
Spike and Raf were running towards the back of the house when they suddenly announced through the radio, "We've got movements on the west wall. It's the woman. She has Sam with her, and she's armed with a chopping knife!"
True to their words, the subject emerged seconds later, dragging Sam by the arm. Their erstwhile missing teammate could barely stand, looking as if he had been run through a wringer, his face pale and drawn. The white t-shirt he was wearing was already spotted with blood. It didn't seem as if he had been stabbed, though. Must be the stitches from the surgery. The ordeal he had gone through was obviously ruining the surgeon's entire good work.
Upon seeing the SRU team, the woman came to an abrupt halt and glared at them in distrust. "What are you doing here? Get off my property!"
"Ma'am." Parker made his approach, his arms raised in an appeasing manner. "Angela Morris? How're you today?"
"What do you care?" she snapped back, "Get off my property, I said!"
"Sorry, I can't do that, ma'am," he replied with a kind smile before turning to Sam. "You're okay, buddy?"
Grinning weakly, Sam shrugged. "Sure. I'm having a blast."
"Stay cool, okay?"
"Yeah, I'm cool."
"Go away! Leave us alone!" Brandishing the knife wildly about, the woman continued to scream, "This is between me and my husband. Do not interfere!"
She yanked Sam back towards the house, causing him to cry out as he stumbled, almost falling.
"Boss, she's escalating," Ed commented from his sierra position a few yards away, his MP5 pointing straight at the subject's head.
"Yes, she is," Parker agreed. "It's a tunnel vision to her now. She can't see reasons."
"Let me talk to her, Sarge," Jules volunteered. "I think what she needs is another woman's voice."
"Are you sure, Jules?" Parker had to ask, knowing how important Sam meant to her. "Sure you can do this?"
Giving her boss a direct look, she nodded. "Yes, I'm sure."
The Sergeant inclined his head in consent. "Okay. The floor is yours."
"Thanks, Boss."
After a deep breath, Jules stepped forward. "Hi, Angela. My name is Jules."
The subject looked warily at her. "Yeah, so?"
"We're not here to harm you. We're here to help."
"I don't need any help. Just go away."
"Can we talk, at least?"
"What's to talk about? I don't even know you."
Jules emitted a reassuring smile. "But we know you, Angela. We know you're a good woman. We also know you love your husband very much."
At this, the subject's face softened a bit. She turned to gaze lovingly at Sam. "Yes. Yes, I do love him."
"If you love him, then let us take him to the hospital, where he can get immediate medical assistance."
"Hospital? No!" the woman shouted as she waved the chopping knife, almost hitting Sam in the face. "He's not going back there! They will kill him!"
"Who will kill him, Angela?"
"The doctors, the nurses. They don't know what to do to make him better. They just said things we wanted to hear. Adam will die in their hands!"
"Angela? Angela, please listen to me," Jules beseeched, putting up a placating hand. "I can see you're very worried about him. So am I."
In the space of a heartbeat, Sam's and Jules' gaze met, and held. They spoke without saying, silently assuring each other that everything would turn out fine.
"I admire the great love you have for him, Angela. And how strong you fight for him," Jules continued. "But if you don't let him go with us, he will die."
"No, he won't," the woman shook his head. "I…I can make him get better. What he needs is tender loving care, that's all. He will be okay if he stays with me."
"Look at him, Angela. Just look at him!" Jules started to raise her voice. "Can't you see? He's dying. He won't last long if this goes on."
The woman turned to Sam, a bit puzzled to see him blinking back at her uncertainly.
Now Jules felt like bitch-slapping Sam for being so dense. "See, Angela? He is dying."
Turning to Jules, Sam noticed the meaning glare she was sending him. Then he understood. "Oh! Oh, right. I…uh…I don't feel good."
He made a show of grabbing his chest, and grimaced as if in great pain. "I…I can't breathe. Help…"
Parker exchanged looks with Ed, and they both rolled their eyes. Sam's poor acting was not going to win him any Gemini awards, that was for sure. But at least it got the message across.
"Adam? Adam!" Dropping the butcher knife, Angela grabbed Sam around the shoulders as he slumped to the ground. She looked at Jules, and cried out, "What's wrong with him? Please, do something!"
With the subject now unarmed, Team One quickly rushed over. Raf grabbed the knife she dropped, while Ed and Spike bent over Sam. Jules pulled the woman away, speaking in soothing words, "It's okay, Angela. He'll be alright. Let them help him."
Relieved that the takedown had gone well without any harm fallen to either subject or hostage, Ed patted Sam's cheek. "It's over, Samo. You may drop the act."
No response. Sam continued to lie still on the ground, his eyes firmly closed.
Frowning, Ed shook his shoulder. "Sam? Can you hear me?"
"Hey, buddy. Quit fooling around, will ya? Get up now." This came from Spike, who sounded a little shaken.
"What's wrong, guys?" Jules asked, still standing guard over the subject.
"Eddie?" Parker demanded to know, "What's going on with Sam?"
Looking grim, Ed looked up from checking Sam's vitals. "He's not breathing."
"What?"
"He actually stops breathing, and I can't find his pulse," Ed repeated, as he and Spike laid Sam flat on his back. "Boss, we need the ambulance here fast. Initiating CPR."
As Spike did the chest compressions, Ed breathed air into Sam's mouth. The rest of the team could only observe in great anxiety. None of them had thought that Sam's act had actually been a real thing.
"That's not Adam."
Jules jerked in surprise when the woman next to her suddenly spoke.
"He's not Adam, isn't he?" Angela asked Jules, her eyes watering. "My husband is really dead?"
Swallowing hard, Jules squeezed the other woman's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Angela."
"What happens to me now?"
"You will get the help you need. You won't go through this alone, I promise you," said Jules, before she turned back to watch as they tried to revive Sam.
"You really love him?"
Startled, Jules swiveled her gaze back at her. "What do you say? How—"
"Girl, I may be delusional but I'm not blind," the woman retorted. "The air sizzles when you two look at each other. I can tell."
Staring open-mouthed at the woman, it took Jules a few moments to register the erupted cheer of her teammates. Sam had regained consciousness.
"God damn it, Sam!" Spike groused, "You scared the hell out of me!"
"If you had not gone cardiac just now, I would have choked you myself!" added Ed, his head shaking. "Do that again and I will shoot your ass!"
Coughing for air, Sam looked up at them. "But it was good acting, no?"
Ed swore, while Spike made a move as if he wanted to wring Sam's neck. Laughing ruefully, Parker knelt down next to him and asked, "How did you even manage to do that, Sam?"
"Yoga," was Sam's short reply, accepting the hand that Raf offered to pull himself upright.
"Yoga?" Ed remarked in disbelief. And then, without a word, he smacked Sam upside the head.
"Hey! What's that for?" Sam cried out, rubbing his smarting head.
"That is for being such an idiot!" the team leader fumed. "You could have killed yourself, you crazy twit!"
"Okay. Sorry for getting carried away with the yoga thing. Didn't expect to actually lost control like that."
"Sam, you literally put your life in our hands," Parker remarked, patting the younger man's shoulder.
"Well, I have complete faith in my team. What, shouldn't I?" Sam asked, slightly sheepish. He then looked up to find Jules glaring at him. "Thanks, partner. That was quick thinking."
"You're a jerk, you know that?" she shot back, handing over the now calmed subject into the custody of the unis who had just arrived. Stifling their smiles, the rest of Team One looked the other way. Obviously, Jules would give Sam a lot of grief over that yoga stunt.
Clearing his throat, Sam indicated the woman who now sat in the back of a patrol car. "So…um…how's Angela doing?"
Sighing, Jules came to sit on her haunch, facing him. "She's going to need help to get over her grief. There might be a relative somewhere who can look after her. I kind of feel sorry for Angela, you know. To lose someone you love like that, it must be terribly hurtful. I don't how I would react."
Sam held her gaze, fully understood what she's trying to say. He would have kissed her there and then if not for their hovering teammates. Instead, he teased her, "You would kidnap a fetching SRU officer just like Angela did, maybe?"
If her glare could burn, Sam would have turned to ashes on that very spot! Luckily, he was saved by the arriving ambulance.
"Ah, your favorite ride is here," Raf commented with a straight face.
Sam briefly closed his eyes and groaned. "Do I have to? Can't I just get a lift in the team's truck?"
"Definitely not," said Parker, grinning. "Think of it in a positive way, Sam. You're the first among us who gets to ride in an ambulance twice in one day."
That threw the entire team into laughter, while Sam whined and moaned like a man being sent to the guillotine.
When Sam was being loaded into the ambulance, Jules wistfully looked on. Parker noticed this and told her, "Go on, Jules. Stay with him."
Her eyes widened in surprise. "Are…are you sure, Boss?"
"Of course, I'm sure," he nodded, smiling. "Besides, our shift is over."
Afraid that the Sergeant would change his mind, Jules leaped into the ambulance and took a seat by Sam' stretcher, holding his hand. They were about to close the door when Spike suddenly cried out, "Wait! Hold on a second."
"What's wrong, Spike?" Jules asked with a frown.
"I almost forgot. Here, give this to Sam," he said, passing her the stuffed toy he had bought at the hospital gift-shop earlier.
"Hey, it's the Pink Ranger! Thanks, buddy." Sam's face brightened as he clutched the thing.
"I heard you told them I look like the girl who plays the Pink Ranger character?" Jules asked him sweetly. Or maybe a little too sweet.
Sam's smile fell flat. He gulped. "Um…guys? A little help here, please?"
"Nope." Chuckling, Ed shut the door. He stood back with the rest of the guys, watching as the ambulance raced away with their two teammates.
"You think they'll be alright in there?" Raf asked, tongue in the cheek.
"Oh, Jules gonna be fine," Parker replied, grinning. "But Sam on the other hand…"
"Gonna wish he were still in the clutches of the subject," Spike laughed. "Jules looks mad enough to whup his ass!"
Putting on his trademark sunglasses, Ed remarked, "Samtastic and his Pink Ranger ride into the sunset. As for Team One, we are all done here so let's roll!"
And so, they all filed into their SUVs and drove away. Their shift was over, but tomorrow would be another exhilarating day for the city most elite squad.
Only they didn't know it yet.
THE END
Okay! The fic is finished, but my love for Flashpoint still lives on.
At first, I haven't thought to turn this into humor. But somehow along the way, I found out that some laughter would be nice. I hope you all enjoy that one. I would like to thank everyone of you for reading. And to those who spent some of their time to review, you guys brightened up my day and make me smile! THANK YOU!
How about some more Sam fics? Just tell me you want 'em and I'll start writing now!
See you soon!
Adromir has left the building ^_^