Burning Bullets

It's been a long time, far too long. I've been slacking off reading, writing, and reviewing here unfortunately but my junior year of college is absurdly busy. Just finished my last final today so I'm hoping I remember how to write! Let me warn again, I don't know guns, protocols, or construction; just remember that when some things are probably wrong. I know it's been a while but I still don't own Flashpoint.

"Put it down, now!" Sam shouted as he ran the subject, a young man desperate for some easy cash, into a corner of half-finished home. After attempting to rob a jewelry store he led the SRU through a suburban neighborhood and into a development that was under construction. There were lots of places to hide and the team had split up to cover the partially built homes. It was a dry day, sweltering hot and everyone's nerves were short.

"SRU! Drop it!" Spike inched his way up the side of the half finished wall, balancing on the beams that would eventually hold the floorboards but right now just laid out as a place for the workers to stand as they prepared their build. His gun was trained on the subject and his eyes focused on his target but his steps were slow and deliberate, he was confident that he was well balanced.

"Look Howie," Sam lowered his weapon slightly and took a breath, he wanted to talk this one down fast and get out of the open toped structure and out of the sun. "I know things are pretty bad right now but you haven't done anything that can't be fixed here, okay." He took a step forward, his hands raised, knowing that Spike had him covered.

"Where the hell are you guys?" Ed spoke into the radio as he tried to find them in the maze of the development. Spike thought for a good way to describe the home they were hidden away in but couldn't find one.

"Maybe a mile east of the main entrance..." Spike whispered while maintaining his focus.

"That's all you've got for us Spike?" Greg asked slightly frustrated.

"Well, I can't exactly say the half finished colonial can I?" Spike whispered back as he watched the subject's body language relax. "Sam's got it." He said confidently as he saw Sam moving in closer to the subject, calmly speaking as he asked for him to drop the gun. Things happened quickly though as the subject lunged forward in an attempt to knock Sam off balance and get past him.

"Drop it! Drop the gun now!" Spike said as he hopped from beam to beam towards where the subject and Sam struggled, keeping his gun on the subject as he moved. There was a small space of finished flooring about five feet past where the subject and Sam wrestled. Spike quickly did the math before moving a few steps over so he was parallel with the subject and checked his angles. Spike saw the subject's fist raise and heard it connect with Sam's jaw as he delivered and knock out punch just a moment before Spike dove and tackled the subject, both of them flying onto the floor and skidding across. Spike gathered himself quickly before placing a knee on the subject's back and cuffing him with a zip-tie. "Subject secure." He said confidently as he turned the man over and saw a gash on his forehead from where he must have hit the wood. "Get some medics...Sam?" Spike stopped short as he looked to his right.

"Spike, talk to us, what's going on?" Ed asked quickly, sensing the tension in his voice.

"Sam!" Spike stood now, hoping that the subject wouldn't regain consciousness anytime soon. Where the hell is he? Spike thought as he moved back to where there was some blood on the beams. "Damn it!" He cursed loudly as he saw Sam lying past the floor beams and in what would eventually be the basement of the house. "Sam fell through the open floor, he's unconscious and in the basement. I'm going to him, someone get here now." Spike yelled into the comm mic as he dropped down on the beam and grabbed it tightly before easing himself over and grabbing hold to slow his dissent. He wasn't thinking clearly enough to find the stairs, this seemed much quicker and he dropped the few feet that were left and landed an arms length from Sam.

"Sam, buddy?" Spike said fairly loudly as he got on his knees and quickly thought about what to do. There was blood all over Sam's face and it looked like his nose might have been broken from the fight. His first instinct was to check for a pulse and he was glad to see that Sam was breathing easily. Spike grabbed a flashlight from his vest and shined it over the rest of Sam's bod. The only injury he saw was a little blood coming from the back of his head, assumingly from where he had hit the ground. Spike worried about the concusion that Sam would probably have but just wanted him to respond first. "Samtastic...come on buddy, wake up." Spike said a little desperately.

"Spike, what's the status?" Greg asked a bit breathless. Spike could tell the whole team was looking for them.

"He's breathing okay, a little bloodied up and probably has a pretty bad concussion but doesn't seem injured in any other way. Still unconscious." Spike reported as the sweat dripped down his face. Sam moaned a moment later as Spike perked up. "Hey Sam, talk to me." Spike demanded softly.

"Ugh..." Sam squinted his eyes shut and tried to reach up towards his head.

"Hey, hey, Sam, just stay still for me here and tell me what hurts." Spike spoke softly, concern evident in his voice.

"My head is killing me." Sam nearly whispered as he opened his eyes slightly only to shut them again. "Damn sun." He said as he cringed at the light.

"Spike!" Wordy's voice reached them as he neared the house.

"Wordy! Down here!" Spike yelled back as Sam cringed again. "Sorry buddy but gotta help them find us..." Spike apologized as Sam became very quiet. "Sam?" Spike asked with some urgency.

"I'm dizzy...stop yelling..." Sam whispered again as his speech slurred slightly.

"Samo, gotta stay with me here, okay?" Spike pleaded. "I need you to stay awake."

"M' head hurts real bad, Spike." Sam said again as Spike moved closer and took Sam's earpiece out, hoping it would help his headache. Wordy had found them and the team was working on getting medics to the location and getting Sam out without aggravating his injuries.

"I know Samtastic, but you've been hurt worse, right?" Spike asked, trying to keep Sam talking and alert.

"Yeah...in Afghanistan I once had a bet with M..." his voice trailed off as Spike leaned over him again.

"What did you bet on with Matt?" Spike said a little louder, forcing Sam to focus. Wordy dropped down a few feet away from them and acknowledged Spike.

"Stairs are too narrow for a backboard, we're gonna do a pulley and get him up." He explained briefly before signaling up to Ed to lower the medical packs.

"Hey, you didn't finish telling me about this bet, Sam." Spike said loudly as Sam flinched. "I wanna hear about your antics over there." Sam smiled ever so slightly.

"Made a bet...who could hold a spent 50 cal cartridge longer...after it was over a fire for...two minutes..." Sam struggled to get the words out over the pounding in his head but he smiled nonetheless at the memories. "I won." He added.

"Of course you did, buddy." Spike said softly as Wordy approached with the backboard.

"Sam, we're gonna get you up now, okay?" Wordy said softly but with authority. He put a neck brace around Sam just to be sure and he and Spike worked to slide the backboard under Sam's body without shaking him too much. "You good, Sam?" Wordy asked more of a cursory question knowing that Sam was in any state other than 'good.' They strapped Sam in tight before giving Ed and Greg the signal to pull him up as they steadied him and Jules secured him once he was back on the first floor. The three of them took Sam out of the house and to the medics while Spike and Wordy made their way back up and out to the ambulance. Spike approached Greg almost immediately.

"Medics say he'll be fine. Bad concussion but no memory loss, no motor problems, just a lot of pain right now." Spike released the breath that he didn't realize he was holding before Greg placed a hand on his shoulder. "You did great today, Spike." Spike nodded, still not completely convinced but he smiled when the team joined them and they made their way over to the hospital.

"I'll be right in guys, just got to get something from the trunk." Spike called as they made their way from the parking lot. Greg looked at Ed and he shrugged his shoulders, not sure what the young tech was doing. He joined them in the waiting room shortly though and the doctors explained that Sam would be fine in a few days. They were going to keep him for the night for observation and pain management and would release him the next day. The team was eager to see Sam and, though he still had a headache and was tired from the pain medication, he was glad to see them as well.

"Gave us a little scare there, Sam." Greg said as the team settled into their spots; Ed, Greg and Wordy standing, Jules taking the chair on the left side of the bed, and Spike the chair on the right.

"Yeah, sorry boss. I didn't expect the subject to charge me, I let my guard down and once he was on top of me I guess he knocked me out and I wasn't very well balanced on that beam." Sam spoke regretfully, angry that he let himself be taken so easily.

"It's alright Sam, happens to the best of us." Ed said with a nod as Wordy agreed. Sam was obviously tired as the team continued to talk softly and joke around with him and each other. It was getting dark outside by the time Greg was able to convince everyone that it was time to leave but Spike still sat in the chair next to Sam's bed.

"Spike, I think Sam needs some rest..." Greg tried to imply that they should get going but Spike just smiled at him.

"I promise boss, I'll leave in roughly 10 minutes, just gotta ask Samtastic here something." Spike smiled again, a mischievous smile that Greg knew well. He rolled his eyes and laughed slightly.

"He's injured, be good." He warned as Spike promised he would be. Sam let his had fall towards Spike as Greg left the room and Spike smiled.

"So, what's up, Spike? Want me to thank you again for helping me out back there?" Sam asked with a slight smile.

"Nah, something you said, wanted to test a theory..." Spike said vaguely as Sam searched his mind.

"What did I say?" He asked, confused.

"Well, I have a theory that I have a better pain tolerance than the great Samtastical." Spike said with a smile as he dug something out of his pocket. Sam quickly recognized the 50 millimeter cartridges and shook his head. "The thing is that I don't think they'd have an open flame in a hospital with all the oxygen lying around but I was thinking that they might have some bunsen burners in the lab..." Sam got comfortable in bed as Spike kept talking about his plan to sneak into the lab.

"Spike, wouldn't it be unfair since I'm on painkillers?" Sam asked as he yawned. He was trying not to fall asleep but the morphine was getting the best of him.

"Ah, but that will make my victory even sweeter!" Spike laughed as Sam couldn't help but let a smirk escape. As much as he and Spike were polar opposites, they were also becoming the best friends either of them could ask for.

Just a quick one here. I love whump (though I kind of like my Spike whump ones better) and I just wanted to get my brain working again and in the mood to write. Don't like the title here or really the direction but then again, I didn't have a single idea of where I was going when I started so this was kind of free-written in an hour and a half so don't kill me if it's horrible. Let me also add that I've written 22 pages worth in final papers this week so this is really just an attempt to make sure that I have the energy to write over winter break. Please review and help me motivate myself to give you some of the stories I've been storing in my head. I've got one or two that aren't related to the seasons but I have a feeling after the finale I'm going to have even more. Oh and I have so many season 5 story ideas...it's gonna be great when I have the time to write!