AN: I recently rewatched Eagle Two and wondered how Sam and Jules got from kissing on the sidewalk to sharing breakfast smoothies. This is my take on the conversation that got them there... Please read & review, it was nice to write something that didn't have to be handed in to one of my professors! ~ Vickie

As always, FLASHPOINT and all characters involved are not mine, I just borrowed them to have a little fun - no copyright violation was intended.

THE EAGLE HAS LANDED

By Vickiann Adams

The kiss didn't last very long before Jules remembered where they were.

"Sam, stop."

With that one word, Sam Braddock's world tilted off its axis. The last thing he wanted to do was stop. Being a gentleman, he ignored what he wanted and managed to step back a couple of steps. He could not meet his co-worker's glare.

"Damn it, Sam. In the truck, now! I'll drive you to headquarters."

Julianna Callaghan took several deep breaths in the short time it took to make it to the SRU truck that had been assigned to her and Sam. It wasn't easy to go from self-defeated to thoroughly pissed in under a minute. She had to find her composure, put on the mask that served her as both a sniper and a negotiator on Team One. She was Constable Julianna Callaghan, member of the SRU's elite Team One. She did not need pity kisses or pity dates or pity anything else that Sam Braddock might be considering. There were specific rules about teammates fraternizing and she wasn't willing to risk her career because her newest teammate was ... was a damn good kisser. No. She wasn't going to risk her career to be a notch on his head board.

As the passenger door of the SUV closed, Sam Braddock took a deep breath and waited for the explosion he knew was only a heartbeat away. An angry Jules frightened him more than any IED he faced in Afghanistan. The truck had barely left the curb when the explosion hit.

"What in God's name did you think you were doing? We were in front of the Royal York. We were wrapping up a call."

Sam couldn't help but smile, "are you mad that I kissed you or mad that I kissed you at work?"

"Sam, this isn't funny. The SRU isn't a game to me. I worked very hard to get here and I'm not going to do anything that will jeopardize my place on Team One."

"Jules, wait. I get that you worked hard to be here and that you think the SRU is just one more thing I'm doing because the General told me to but it isn't. I don't know what you want me to say but..."

"What I want you to say is that you're not going to put my career at risk for any more adolescent displays of hormone."

For the remainder of the ride back to the SRU, Sam had nothing to say. In his heart, he knew that what he was feeling was more than adolescent hormones but it was obvious this wasn't an argument he could win. When the truck parked, Sam grabbed the gear that needed to be checked in and headed for the door leaving Jules alone in the parking lot.

Once safely alone in her jeep, Jules took a long deep breath. This was so not the easy day the Sarge promised. Between screwing up the protection detail and the whole thing with Sam this was definitely not an easy day. Driving home on virtual auto-pilot, Jules focused on the hot shower, beer and sanding that were waiting for her. Focusing on her molding was much better than thinking about Sam or the kiss or about Sam for that matter.

Sam sent a third paper target down range and fired at it over and over again. He wasn't even sure who he was mad at - Jules, his dad, the rules, himself? As the magazine finally clicked empty, Sam realized there was only one solution. He quickly pulled the spent target off the clip, checked his weapon and headed for the shower.

The knock at her door came as a surprise. She knew she wasn't expecting anyone and at quarter after two in the morning it was probably safe to rule out traveling salesmen and religious missionaries. Putting her beer down, she decided to keep the sanding block just in case.

"Sam!?"

He would have like to say something witty or something at least intelligible but that ability vanished seconds after Jules answered her front door wearing shorts and a tank-top covered with a fine dusting of wood particles. Luckily the power of speech returned in the moment he took admiring the pajamas and the wearer.

"Jules, I know it's late but we need to talk."

So much for sanding the molding to avoid thinking about Sam. "Fine. Get in here before one of my neighbors see you."

Sam walked into the open entryway and looked around. "This place is really great. It's got character. From the outside it looks pretty cookie-cutter but it's nice, it's got charm."

"It's two-thirty in the morning, Sam. Did you really come all the way over here to complement my hallway? I've got work I could be doing. The living room is this way."

Why was he prattling on like the love-sick teen she accused him of being? Maybe this was just a retro wave of adolescent hormones? Sam took a deep breath and started again. "Jules, I want to apologize for kissing you in the middle of the sidewalk where anyone could have seen us but I won't apologize for kissing you. You feel it too, I know it. You have to feel it, Jules, because before you realized where we were, you kissed me back. You kissed me back."

That was the heart of the problem, she did kiss him back and she did feel it. She felt it, and it scared her to death because for that brief moment, she wanted everything that kiss offered. "I'm an adult, I have lots of feelings. That doesn't mean I have to act on every one of them. Getting involved with you could cost me my career, I don't care how good of a kisser you are - you're just not worth my career."

"So, you think I'm a good kisser, huh?" The smile that lit up Sam's face made his blue eyes even brighter.

Jules rolled her eyes but couldn't help but smile too. Swallowing the last mouthful of her open beer, she stood up. "You want a beer or I think there's a can of Pepsi in my fridge?"

Sam smiled again, she still hadn't thrown him out and now she was offering refreshments. This was a good sign. "I'll take a beer."

While Jules headed to the kitchen, Sam took off his jacket and draped it over the back of the couch. He couldn't help but look around the living room. The walls were mostly rough sheet-rock and half sanded molding. The pictures were mostly of Jules and the team and the books were text books and how-to handyman guides - no romances and no obvious family snapshots.

Jules came back with two beers and a bag of microwaved popcorn. "This is the best I can do when you show up unannounced and uninvited at two am."

"Thanks, I'm good with popcorn. So, you think I'm a good kisser, huh?"

"Sam, be realistic. Any relationship violates the SRU rule on fraternization. I'm not risking my career."

"You're not being fair, Jules. Ed and Wordy hang out outside of work, so do Spike and Lou and so do Ed and the Sarge. Why should it be any different if you and I spend time together outside of work? You can't tell me you have never spent time alone with a team member away from work, I find that hard to believe."

The argument was fair but the logic was flawed. Jules knew Sam was thinking of more than just friendship - she was thinking of more than just friendship and that's what scared her. "It won't work. I can't risk my career. To most people, perception is reality and the first thing people are going to think if they see us together is that there's something going on. I won't take that chance."

He may not have all the finer points of negotiation down yet but he knew when to change tactics, "When was the last time you had relationship that lasted past the third date, honestly?"

"That's not the point, Sam. The SRU forbids relationships between members of the same team. It's a black and white line, there's no room for interpreting the regulation differently."

"It is the point, don't you see it? First dates are always great; lots of potential, lots of chemistry. By the second date, they want to know why you were three hours late for the seven thirty dinner reservation. If the third date happens, it's usually the 'it's not you' speech and the 'I'll call you.' promise. I get it, I've been there too. It's not easy to date when your hours are everything but nine to five and a good day at the office is no one getting dead. We understand the crappy hours, the bad days and the good days. Imagine coming home after a bad day and not having to say a word because I was right there for the same bad day. Or better yet, imagine coming home and being able to talk about your day, really talk about it with someone who gets it and totally understands what we do every day."

It was getting harder and harder to disagree with his argument because everything he was offering sounded almost too good to be true. Jules tried to imagine what it would be like to date someone who wasn't surprised to find out that she was one of the best civilian snipers in Ontario or to find out that when she said law-enforcement she meant sniper/negotiator not parking enforcement.

"Dating you could ruin both our careers."

Sam leaned forward to make his final pitch, he could sense that she was close to giving in. "Jules, from where I'm sitting, I think the reward is worth the risk. If you can look me in the eye right now and tell me you don't feel whatever this is between us, I'll leave now and never bring it up again."

In that heartbeat, she looked up and saw the truth. Ignoring the feelings wouldn't make them go away. As she leaned across the couch toward Sam, she couldn't help but smile. Moments before her lips collided with his, she all but whispered " I feel it too."

This kiss lasted longer than the earlier one on the sidewalk and left them both breathless. "Sam, if we try this, it can not interfere with work. No inside jokes, no hinting, no nicknames, no bragging. As far as everyone at the SRU is concerned we are teammates and nothing more."

"So, you really think I'm a good kisser?"

Jules smiled at the repeated question. "Well, I may need to investigate further to confirm that. Wanna help me with the investigation?"

Sam reached over the back of the couch to turn off the table lamp illuminating the living room and shifted closer on the sofa. "Copy that, Callaghan, continuing the investigation."