Six More Minutes

Takes place between season 4 and 5. Enjoy.

Just for formality, Jules gave the door three light knocks, having been told by Sydney that the rest of the team had left the building. There was no answer. She silently counted to ten before walking in, thinking how if their positions were reversed, Sam wouldn't have bothered to even knock before barging into her locker room. Neanderthal.

She was half expecting to see Sam in front of his locker, all dressed and ready to go, but the spot was empty. She could hear the water running from the shower area and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't tempted to be adventurous. She shifted her weight from one foot to another, contemplating her next move. After all, it's not like the rest of the team hadn't gone home already, right? It could be fun, catching him off guard and maybe making him scream like a little girl...

But no. Nope. Don't give him any idea. It didn't take a genius to know that Sam would be more than willing to get back at her, or worse than that, he could get inspired. There's definitely a disadvantage (or was it an advantage?) of having a locker room all to herself. Before she knew it, Sam would think it was justified to watch her shower in the SRU building. Things were definitely much better now that the secrets were out. They had gotten -earned- the seal of approval from the higher ups and a sociopath psychologist too. It was simply wonderful to be finally, officially, allowed to be honest. Honest to each other about their feelings, honest to their friends and teammates about their relationship without worrying about costing people their jobs. Despite all that though, there's still a professional boundary.

Mind made up, Jules took a seat on the metal bench in front of Sam's locker, placing her purse beside her. She glanced at her watch. They didn't have to rush anywhere this evening, so Sam could take his sweet time. Maybe it would be thirty minutes and the next time he said, always jokingly, she spent a long time in the shower, she could throw his half an hour to his face.

Her eyes flicked to his opened locker, to the spare uniforms and shirts and the watch his mother had given him for his birthday - all shiny and likely expensive, which was why Sam only wore it every once in a blue moon. It was the dog tag though, that caused a dreaded pang of déjà vu to wash through her. The same opened locker and missing partner. She remembered how he had almost quit the team, how he had cleaned up his locker, how the team had put his things back because this was where he belonged. Irrationally, Jules felt bile rising up in her throat as panic closing in around her almost as strongly as it had a couple of years ago. They had been so close to losing him, to losing yet another team member. Sam had looked like he had lost himself, lost the only hope he had thought he had after quitting the military. She had never seen him so dejected, so defeated, so-

Stop right there, Callaghan, Jules scolded herself before she got carried away and her emotions got the better of her. She took several deep breaths, fingers untangling from the straps of her purse. Everything's all right now. He's fine. Nobody's leaving. Sam's fine.

Gnawing at her lips, she looked up at the collages of photographs Sam had put up on his locker, at the picture of him with Matt, arms around each other's shoulders. They were smiling, but their eyes were somber. She wondered when the picture was taken. Whether it was after Matt beat Sam in Call of Duty, or after Matt emailed the three different girls waiting for him at home. Perhaps it was during their first tour before their first raid where a bullet nicked Sam's left shoulder. Matt bought him a beer after it was over, congratulating him for his first battle scar. 'Chicks would go crazy over it,' he said, as if it would magically make Sam feel less like a failure for getting hurt in his very first mission. 'Your old man would probably go crazy too, just in a different way.'

A small smile graced her lips. While Sam never told her lengthy, detailed stories about his deceased best friend or his time in the army, he would often weave bits of both into their conversation. It felt like she was collecting precious, rare gems that had to be handled with extra care.

Pinned beneath the picture of Matt was a picture of him with his parents, as well as Natalie. The General looked decidedly uncomfortable surrounded by three smiling faces and it was comical - it was probably why Sam had decided to put it up. The contrast between the beaming Natalie Braddock in a bright pink shirt next to the frowny General Badass in a suit made Jules chuckle. More importantly, Sam looked happy in the picture.

Her eyes turned gentle seeing their pictures together - pictures, all four of them. Black and white photo booth pictures of them simply smiling and making silly faces and kissing. She wondered if the guys had ribbed him good for that, not that Sam would care. He had groaned when she pulled him into one of those small photo booths at the mall, complaining they were a little too old for that 'teenagery' stuff. Still, he didn't resist and certainly didn't protest when she pulled his face close and pressed their lips together for the last take. Even after the flash had gone off, she contentedly let the kiss linger for a moment longer. Sam returned the kiss with equal enthusiasm, not caring if they were acting exactly like the teenager he had teased her of being earlier. His hand was warm on her thigh.

'What was that for?'

'For being a good sport.'

The faucet produced a loud squeak that reverberating through out the room as the water turned to a trickle and stopped altogether. She could hear his footsteps on wet tiles as he reached for his towel. She glanced at her watch again. Twenty-four minutes.

"Don't worry, Matt," she whispered almost conspiratively, her smile was sad. One time, Sam had told her that Matt would've liked her, which was an irony seeing Sam probably wouldn't have met her at all if Matt were still alive. "I'll take care of him."

It's been forever since my last post but I remember I promised to get better in posting/updating. I know I haven't been doing a pretty good job. This is kinda short, but babysteps. Let me know what you think?

PS: Fellow writers, please, please continue writing JAM. I know the show has been over for almost two years now, but keep them coming! Let's keep this show alive :)