Look Before You Leap

Here's a quick one-shot with some whump (I love whump). I had this idea and I don't usually write more than one story at once but I'm hoping that writing this will spur my mind to finish up my other one. Having so much trouble writing this semester and it's exceptionally frustrating because this is probably the first and last time that I will have some time to write for a long time. Oh well, I'll try to finish up all my started stores before the school year starts because then it'll be a lost cause until Christmas break! I don't own anything and I'd appreciate your reviews.

"Heading east towards the river." Spike's ragged voice came over the comm link in between breaths.

"Darren Walsh! SRU! Stop!" Sam shouted from a few paces behind Spike, his gun raised as Spike lowered his and ran at full force.

"We're heading around to cut him off, just keep on course guys." Ed's voice came over the radio.

"Copy, Ed." Sam spoke again, letting Spike fully focus on catching up with their subject. Walsh had tried to hold up a gas station but had found himself with high maintenance hostages and the SRU responding to the call. Things had gotten much more complicated than he had intended much faster than he had thought and before Team One could get fully set up he made a run for it through a back door into a heavily wooded area. He was fast and seemed to either have a huge amount of stamina or a huge adrenaline rush keeping him going. His hunting experience also seemed to give him a better handle maneuvering through the dense woods than the urban based police team.

"Spike, Ed and Wordy are trying to get ahead of us, just keep him going straight. I got you covered." Sam reiterated, not sure if Spike was able to hear anything in his hyper-focused state. There was a kind of tunnel vision in this kind of scenario. Spike's only focus was keeping his eyes on the subject and making sure not to trip over his own feet. Sam had his back, the blood was pounding in his ears as adrenaline pumped through his veins and he felt like he was in his zone. He regulated his breathing and kept his pace. The subject couldn't keep up this speed burst forever, he would either run into Ed and Wordy or tire very soon. Walsh looked over his shoulder trying to gauge how much space he had before the police reached him.

"Walsh! Stop right there!" Sam yelled again as he saw the subject make a quick left. Spike stayed right on his tail as Sam relayed the change of direction to Ed.

"That'll lead him back to the highway at some point…why is he going that way?" Wordy mused out loud as Sam continued to keep pace close behind Spike. A large fallen tree laid on the path ahead of them as they saw Walsh make a running jump for it and fling his body over.

"Lost eyes." Sam said desperately as he and Spike picked up the speed. Spike, still a few paces ahead of Sam, jumped most of the way over the tree and used his right arm to stabilize himself as he slid his body to the other side but he didn't find what he thought. His momentum continued to carry him despite the steep hill that met him as he landed awkwardly on his left leg while trying to stand and stop himself from continuing down the drop off.

"Spike!" Sam yelled as he perched on the fallen tree and reached out for his friend. He watched in horror as Spike lost his footing and tumbled down the long, steep ravine.

"Sam?" Greg demanded, now operating blind on where the subject was and what was happening with his team.

"Subject is heading towards the highway." Sam said through gritted teeth as he carefully made his way down the hill, slippery with wet leaves and rocks. "Spike's hurt." He said with some urgency. "Subject led us to a ravine, we couldn't see the drop until we were on top of it."

"Subject in custody." Ed's voice was tense, he was obviously holding back his worry and concern for Spike but he had to focus on catching the man who had led to his injury.

"Good, Ed. Spike, talk to me." Greg spoke over the comm. He was back at the gas station gathering information and directing the uniformed officers on the perimeter but his main focus now was figuring out the state of his man. There was a small groan over the radio but no words. "Sam, how close are you?"

"I'll be with him in a minute. He fell almost all the way down to the bottom. Boss there's a lot of rocks on the way down, he's not moving…EMS with you?" Sam asked as he neared his friend.

"Jules is bringing them to your position. It'll take a while." Sam had stopped listening when he finally reached Spike's side and knelt down next to him. He was face down, his face slightly turned away from Sam and his body contorted.

"Spike, talk to me buddy." Sam said as he took off his gloves and reached around to feel for a pulse. He felt the strong, rhythmic beating in his neck but his fingers came back with dark blood on them. Sam carefully made his way around Spike's body and log rolled his body, careful to keep his neck and back perfectly straight incase their was a serious injury. Sam carefully started to assess for injuries. "Boss, he's got a head wound that's bleeding. Still unconscious but he's breathing fine. His leg's also pretty messed up, might be broken but I think he's got a dislocated left knee-" Sam's report was interrupted as Spike began to stir. "Don't move, Spike." He cautioned but Spike didn't seem to hear him.

"Holy ugghhh…" Spike let out a groan as the pain hit him hard. "What the hell happened? Did we catch him?" He asked as he shut his eyes against he light.

"Yeah, Ed and Wordy got him on the highway. You made a very uncomfortable descent from oh…" Sam looked up at the ridge they had been on, "about 40 feet give or take."

"Ahh…" Spike gritted his teeth as he raised his arm towards his head. Sam caught his hand before he could find the large wound on his temple.

"Let's not do that right now…in fact how about you just stay still and tell me where it hurts." Sam kept his tone light, knowing that panic wouldn't help anyone.

"What doesn't hurt?" Spike said with a slight smile. "Mostly my head…and my leg…and my wrist…what did I do to my leg?" Spike asked as he tried to sit up but almost fell backwards with pain and dizziness.

"What did I tell you about staying still?" Sam asked with mock seriousness as he gently pushed Spike back down. "Jules and EMS will be here soon. Just relax and breathe, okay? I know your leg probably kills. I think you dislocated your left knee, maybe broke your leg."

"Ahhh, come on Samtastic, you've done field medicine. Can't you just pop my knee back into place?" Spike asked at first jokingly but there was an underlying seriousness to his request.

"Spike, I'm not going to reduce your knee. You can still wiggle your toes?" Sam focused on his leg and tried to see if there was evidence of vascular injury keeping his blood from getting to his foot.

"Yeah…" Spike bit his lip as the slight movement caused pain to shoot up his leg.

"Then you'll be fine until the medics get you to the hospital." Sam moved closer to Spike and reached for his left writs. "This is a little swollen…" Sam said as he gently poked around the joint. "Move your fingers." Spike slowly followed his orders and made a fist. "Good job, Spike." Sam smiled as Spike relaxed and closed his eyes.

"Thanks, Samtastic." He said slowly.

"Hey, stay awake Spike." Sam spoke with some urgency as Spike smiled.

"I know, I know. I've got a concussion but it comes with a nasty headache." Spike smiled without opening his eyes. "If I fall asleep you have permission to hit me. The right side of my body is relatively unscathed and my ribs aren't broken so go for those first."

"The medics'll be here in…" He waited for Greg to fill in the answer, "like two minutes. Jules and Ed are just setting up some ropes to make sure they can get you up the ravine again."

"Righeo, Samsational." Spike opened his eyes slightly and smiled.

"That's a new one."

"Yeah, well you went above and beyond Samtastic today…" He paused for a moment before opening his eyes again. "Thanks man." He said with a smile and a serious tone.

"Forget about it…Spiketacular…" They both laughed before Spike closed his eyes again.

"That hurts." He said simply as Sam stood.

"Ed's here, I'm gonna anchor their ropes." Sam said, already walking to the point a few feet away.

"I'll be here." Spike said sarcastically under his breath.

"I heard that." Ed's rough hands started to evaluate Spike's injuries as Sam had, only this time applying bandages and a neck brace. "Medics are on their way down and then we'll get you to the hospital."

"Oh, take your time. I'm not going anywhere." Ed and Sam shared a look before Ed shook his head.

"Has he been like this the whole time?" Ed asked as he and Sam helped the medics get their gear down.

"Only since he's been conscious." They laughed as the medics got him loaded up on the backboard.

"Oh, and Spike," Ed said as the medics started an IV and splinted his leg. "I thought you'd like to be the first to know, once you're all healed up we're going to add a new drill to our training schedule."

"Okay..." Spike said groggily as he tried to figure out where Ed was going. "Yeah, it's gonna be called, 'watch where you're going during a foot chase." Sam and Ed both laughed.

"Very funny, Ed. Very funny." Spike smiled as they helped the medics lift the backboard and get it attached to the ropes so Wordy and Jules could help guide them up. "I've been saying it since my first day and you guys never believe me..."

"What's that, Spike?" Sam humored him and asked.

"Romans and the woods just don't mix."

So I figured this would end in another place. I had a little bit more but this worked. I'm trying guys. I'm having so much trouble focusing but I really appreciate reviews so please let me know what you think. I don't usually do humor but this kind of went that way so let me know. Thanks for the read!