Author's note: Hope you all like this story. Again, parts are kind of far fetched. This story would probably take place in season one, some time after episode three.

Disclaimer: I don't own any Flashpoint characters.

Warnings: Un-betaed.

Sam Braddock was enjoying his shower after a hard day's work. It was a long day with two hot calls. One involved a woman attempting to commit suicide and dragging her daughter along with her. Her ex-husband had left her and her daughter for another woman and she couldn't handle it. Jules took point on this call and Sam watched her in admiration as she connected and talked the woman down from her perch on the edge of the roof of her apartment building.

The second was another attempt at committing suicide, but this was a kid, about 14 years old, who failed to get the marks he needed to be valedictorian. He was only half a percent off and wasn't brave enough to go home and tell his mother that he had disappointed her. The kid's father was at the scene, crying and telling him to put the gun down, that he didn't care if he was the stupidest kid in the world, he would always love him. This one was a little closer to Sam's heart. He knew all about disappointed and controlling parents. Sam still couldn't believe that he had taken over the negotiation without even thinking. It was instinctive. "You know, I have a father that made all my decisions for me. He chose all my classes in high school, told me who I could be friends with, signed me up for extracurricular activities," Sam shook his head, "It didn't matter what I liked or what I didn't like, because what he did for me was for my own good." Sam shrugged, "Well that's what he kept telling me." Sam took a step forward, noticing that the boy's finger on the trigger was relaxing, "But do you want to know something?"

"What?"

"All those subjects he chose for me, all those activities he signed me up for, none of it is what got me here today and yes, I disappointed him by choosing to be a police officer instead of staying in the army, but I don't care. I'm happy here. I like who and where I am and in the end, that's what's important. I love my parents and I always will, but I learned a long time ago, that no matter what my parents did for me, in the end, it's my own choices that defines me. Just like it's your choice, right now, if you want to pull that trigger, or not, but I can tell you that if you pull that trigger…that's gonna be the worst disappointment of all. You're a smart kid, Andrew, look at your dad and tell me that you don't know that what you're doing is breaking his heart." By now Sam was right in front of him, he gently put a hand on the gun and pushed it down, taking it from the boy and hugging him, his own eyes wet. Sam handed the sobbing boy over to his father then turned away from the team to gather himself together before turning back to them. Sam never liked talking about his family life, but he's already learned that personal experience is an asset in this job. He looked over at his Boss who gave him his nod of approval.

Sam got changed into his casual clothes. It was a good day for Team One. No fatalities and now it's the long weekend. Sam packed his bag and swung it over his shoulder. He had plans this weekend. "Hey, Sam! Good job, today." Jules walked into the men's locker room.

Sam grinned, "You too," then looked at her suspiciously, "You didn't call out before coming in. You trying catch of glimpse of something?"

Jules smacked him, "EW! Anyway, you did well for your first negotiation. Not sure I would've dared to take over the Boss's job like that, but it all worked out."

Sam laughed, "Yeah, well, I was kinda drawn to the kid. So what's your plan for the weekend?"

"Family gathering at my parents'." Jules answered, "How about you?"

Sam mimicked shooting a rifle, "Hunting season."

Jules eyes narrowed, "Hunting what?"

Sam grinned at her, making her smile. She hasn't seen Sam this excited, "Black bear!"

Jules face immediately turned sad, "Really? But they're so cute."

Sam raised his eyebrows at her, "Cute? I'm not talking about Care Bears." Ed walked into the locker room then, "Ed! Jules think black bears are cute."

Ed looked at them, pausing what he was doing, "Right, they're claws and teeth are real cute." Ed said sarcastically as he shook his head. "You should come with us and we'll see how cute you think they are when it growls in your face."

Jules was a little surprised at that, "You're going hunting with Sam?"

Ed nodded, and then looked at Sam, "Didn't you tell her?"

Sam shook his head, "Never got to it, she was too focused on the cute and cuddly bears."

Spike, Wordy and Lou joined them at that point, "This is the men's locker room, no talking about cute and cuddly things, unless you're Wordy." Spike joked, earning a smack over the head from Wordy, "What? You have three girls! Anyway, what I really want to know is why I wasn't invited?"

"Because you don't shut up." Ed answered bluntly making everyone laugh.

"Why are you taking Sam?"

Everyone looked at Sam. Sam looked at each of them confused and feeling a little awkward, "What? Shouldn't you being asking Ed that?" They all turned to Ed.

Ed shrugged, "He's the rookie, think of it as a 'welcome to the team' hunting trip."

"I never got one of those." Spike complained, then looked at Lou, who shook his head. "Neither did Lou."

"That is because you don't shut up." Ed emphasised the last three words, "And Lou, well, Lou's just too nice, why do you think I always put him on less lethal?" The team laughed at the Lou's and Spike's expense.

Greg walked in, ready to leave for the week. "What's going on? You guys don't want to get out of here." They started filing out, joking and laughing. "Where are you guys headed tomorrow?" Greg asked Ed as they walked out of the building.

"You know."

Greg laughed, "Yeah, I know. I just want to make sure in case you two don't turn up on Tuesday."

"Come on, you're talking about two ex-soldiers, one of them an ex-Special Forces. You think we can't handle a couple of grizzlies?"

Greg nodded, "Okay, okay. Have fun!" He waved as he got into his car.

Sam had come into work with Ed, knowing he would be heading home with him today so they could get an early start tomorrow. He'd already had his gear in Ed's truck. They got into the truck and Ed drove off, sticking his hand out of the window to wave to the others as they left.

"So where are we going?" Sam followed Ed as they hiked through the woods with their heavy back packs. They had decided that this was going to be two days of full on camping. No technology, no food, no bottled water and no light. They had their phones on them, in case of emergency, but they weren't to turn it on until it came to that point. Sam loved camping. He loved the open, fresh air and the feeling of getting back to nature. They were going to live off the land, just like the natives had done before the British settlers.

"It's a place my dad always took me when I was a kid. Not many people know about it, that's why I like it. A lot of hunting areas get crowded during hunting season, but not this place. Here, it's just us against the wild." Ed huffed as he navigated his way through the trees.

"I like the sound of that." Sam smiled wistfully, he wished he had a place like this with his father, but Ed's dad and his father were two very different people. Sam didn't need to meet Ed's dad to know that.

They've been hiking for three hours now and it felt as if they had completely left any sign of civilisation behind them. "Another hour and we should come to clearing. We'll set up camp there and then we can go get ourselves some lunch."

"Sounds like a perfect plan to me." Sam took out his water can and took a swig from it. They had filled it at a small stream before they started the hike.

They continued their hike in silence. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence; both men weren't exactly talkative guys. They just enjoyed the peace of nature. It's not very often they got to spend a couple of days without the sound of traffic or chatter or television and radio. This is exactly what Sam considered a weekend trip.

Ed reached the clearing and dropped his back pack. "Here it is!" He turned to Sam, "What do you think?"

Sam looked around, nodding his approval, "This is nice. Perfect place to set up camp."

"Great! Let's set up so we can head out to start hunting!" Sam laughed, he'd never seen Ed so animated.

"Alright, let's do it!" Sam pulled out his camping gear. They each brought their own tent, already deciding early on that it would be too weird to sleep in the same tent. Both men were very practical, so their tents were small and simple. It took them 15 minutes to set that up. Ed pulled out his rifle and loaded it. Sam did the same. They also armed themselves with a bow and arrows for the smaller animals they would come across. They looked at each other like two teenagers ready for spring break. "Bet you I get the first game."

"Oh…you're on." Ed took the bet and headed out. Despite feeling the urge to run, he knew he needed to be quiet.

Much to Sam dismay, Ed got the first kill. It was only a hare, but it was their lunch and Sam would be tasked with skinning and cooking it, seeing as he lost the bet. "That rabbit practically walked into your arrow." Sam complained.

"Whatever makes you feel better, Sam. You're still cooking." Ed laughed as he proceeded with bleeding and dressing the hare. He wrapped it in a cheese cloth then tied it around his waist so that they could continue. "Let's head back. You can cook it and then we'll head back out again for some real game." Sam grinned, he was loving this trip more and more.

Sam expertly skinned the hare and prepared it for cooking. Ed had started the fire and Sam cleaned a stick before skewering the meat and placing it over the fire. Ed nodded at the meat cooking. "You've done that a lot."

Sam nodded, "Yeah, the General made me skin all our kills when I was younger. Thought it'll make me more of a man." Ed frowned at the bitterness in Sam's voice.

"How old were you?"

"The first time, I was seven." Sam remembered how scared he was when his father handed him the knife and told him to cut into it. His hands shook and he cried, but the General didn't care, he just watched until Sam did it. "He didn't help, he just watched."

Ed couldn't believe that General Braddock could be so cruel to a seven year boy. "I'm amazed you're not scarred for life."

Sam chuckled, "One of my friend's dad taught me the proper way of doing it when I was about nine. My father was on tour, so my mum let me stay at a friend's house. It was the best hunting trip I've ever had. He taught me more about hunting in that one trip, than my father ever did. Ever since then, every time my father went away, I would head on over there and we'll go hunting. I felt so free."

Ed nodded, glad that Sam had one man in his life that he could look up to. "He obviously did a good job teaching you."

Sam looked at Ed and smiled, "How about you?"

"Me? I was thirteen when my mum finally let me go and even then my dad had to convince her to let me go with him." Sam laughed at the thought of Ed's dad trying to explain why thirteen would be a good age to go hunting. He could understand. Sam's mum never wanted him to go hunting, especially not at the age of seven, but she never did have a say in his life. "We started out with the basics, how to sent up a tent, how to find water, how to clean and cook the animal. It was a while before he let me hold a rifle and then another month before I could shoot it. He thinks my mum was being over-protective, but he had no idea how frustrating it was for me to be out there but not be able to do anything for months." Sam grinned as he cut a bit off meat off to check if it was done. He envied Ed's relationship with his dad, but Sam couldn't complain. He was brought up pretty well-off. Sam threw a piece of meat at Ed, who caught it and threw it in his mouth without missing a beat.

Ed nodded, approvingly, "Not bad, Braddock. Maybe you should cook for the rest of the trip."

"Ha!" Sam laughed, "You manage to shoot every animal and I'll cook them all!"

Ed grinned at him smugly, "You better watch out, I might take you up on that offer."

"I'll like to see you try." Sam countered. This was a great start to the weekend, but he didn't know how quickly that was going to change for them. "Let's eat up and get back out there. I'm itching for some more." Ed smiled at Sam's enthusiasm. He was glad he decided to ask Sam to come along. They had gotten off on the wrong foot and this was helping them get to know each other and get back on the right track.

Sam and Ed were back on the trail, treading lightly so as to not make a sound. Just five minutes ago, Sam spotted the deer through the trees and gestured for Ed to stop and look. Now, they were both approaching the animal from different sides, trying to find the best shot without spooking the animal. Sam found a spot that gave him a clear shot of beautiful animal. He looked around to see where Ed was, and ensuring that Ed knew he was going to take the shot. Ed nodded. Sam lifted the rifle, but just as Sam was about to pull the trigger the doe moved a forward. Sam sighed, but the shot wasn't lost yet. He just needed to take a step to his right. Sam wasn't prepared for the snap he heard, just a millisecond before pain seared up his right leg causing his shot to go wide, scaring off the doe. "AHHH…" Sam dropped his rifle and fell to the ground on his back.