A/N this was my first Flashpoint fanfic so sorry if Spike and Winnie were out of character! So please go easy on me! Don't own Flashpoint.

Greg was out of surgery and was going to be fine. As soon as Spike heard this he made his excuses and rushed out of the hospital, there was somewhere he needed to be he said. The images from the day played through his mind, and hearing a voice in his ear every now and then which calmed him. That constant voice reminded him of what was good in the world and grounded him in all the panic around him. That voice belonged to Winnie.

This was why Spike was walking into the SRU building. As far as he knew Winnie was still here, she had five minutes left on shift. Spike was determined to make her realize that some rules were meant to be broken, and after witnessing the worse side of human nature today Spike needed to see what was good and for him Winnie represented all the good and innocence of the world.

As Spike walked over to the dispatchers desk he was dismayed to see Henry another of the dispatchers sat behind the desk instead of Winnie who was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey Spike, how's Greg?"

"He's gonna be fine. Where's Winnie? I thought she still had another few minutes on shift"

"I came in early to give her a break and the poor girl looked like she needed to finish early tonight"

Spike paused a moment, he knew the day would have been hard on everyone but he didn't know how much it had effected Winnie, she had sounded so strong and brave when she relayed information to the team. Spike shook his head; he should have known something was wrong with Winnie, after Lew's death even though at the time Spike was overcome with grief he had heard Winnie's strong and calming voice and Spike vaguely remembered coming into the SRU to see Winnie subtly brushing away her tears. This made Spike more determined to see Winnie and make sure she was alright.

"She still here Henry?"

"As far as I know, she might still be in the locker room"

Spike nodded his thanks and made his way over to the women's locker room. He knocked on the door and heard a quiet "come in", he opened the door and immediately saw Winnie sat on one of the benches hunched over with her head cradled in her hands. Spike slowly walked over to Winnie so not to startle her and softly called "Winnie".

Winnie didn't look up but Spike saw and heard her try to stifle a sob, Spike crouched in front of Winnie and said her name again.

Winnie still didn't look up at him but asked in a small voice "how's the boss?"

Spike smiled assuredly, "he's gonna be fine, it'll take a while but he'll be fine"

"That's good" sighed Winnie as she tried again to stifle a sob.

"Winnie are you ok?" asked Spike,

"Yea – no. I was scared. Still am"

"Why?"

Winnie for the first time looked up at Spike, Spike softly gasped at the anguish he saw in the depths of Winnie's eyes.

"Because all I could do was listen! I couldn't help!"

"But you did help! Trust me on that Winnie!" replied Spike as he took Winnie's hands in his and squeezed them comfortingly.

Winnie took a shuddering breath but this time she couldn't keep her tears at bay, Winnie's face crumpled in pain and she curled into herself. Spike wrapped his arms around her and lowered both of them to the floor, Spike rocked Winnie back and forwards rubbing her back, murmuring words of comfort. Spike felt his uniform shirt getting wet from Winnie's tears and this made him hold on to her tighter as if by doing this he could take her pain and sadness away.

When Winnie had stopped crying Spike slowly brought them to their feet and said "come on, I'm taking you home"

"But I'm still in my uniform" protested Winnie weakly,

"Doesn't matter and today I don't think anyone will say anything" so Spike guided Winnie out of the locker room after taking her bag for her.

As they walked out of the building Spike kept a comforting arm around Winnie and she leaned into him as if she had no strength left. Spike was a little worried when she didn't protest leaving her car at the SRU building as he helped Winnie into his car.

They drove through the streets of Toronto and sometimes saw the effects of the day's events, every time they passed a scene of devastation Winnie would slump downwards in her seat and look at her hands and try and scrub away any tears that tried to escape. Every time this happened Spike felt a pang of sympathy for Winnie and tried his best to avoid the devastated areas on the way to Winnie's apartment, but the bombs were so widespread that it was impossible to avoid them altogether. By the time Spike stopped the car Winnie had realized what he had tried to do for her when she realized it had taken longer than usual to get to her apartment. Spike made to get out of the car but stopped when Winnie got his attention.

"Spike" she said softly,

"Yeah Winnie?" asked Spike as he turned back to face her.

"Thank you" she gave him a small smile,

Spike nodded and replied "let's get you inside".

Winnie walked into her apartment with Spike right behind her, Winnie seemed to be trying to collect herself turned back to Spike and said "what a drink? Or something to eat?"

"Nah I'm alright, worried about you though"

Winnie smiled at him, although to Spike could see she was putting up a mask, "I'm fine, I mean Boss is ok, my family is ok and you're ok"

Winnie seemed to realize what she had just said about Spike and Spike had to try and hide the smile that wanted to escape. So to help Winnie out he said "so your family is ok?"

Winnie smiled "yeah, they were all visiting my grandma who lives half an hour away, I turned my cell phone on to see fifty missed calls from my mom and like twenty texts all from my mom and when I called her she began crying saying how thankful she was that I was alright and that just made me begin to cry"

Winnie then tried to hide a yawn but was unsuccessful, Spike grinned "go on get to bed"

Winnie made no move to leave the room.

"Winnie?"

"You, uh, will you stay, please?" Winnie asked nervously.

"Of course I will" Spike smiled and his smile grew when he saw Winnie smile. For Spike seeing Winnie smile was the best thing in the world and it was even better when he was the one to make her smile.

####

Spike was jolted awake from where he was lying on Winnie's ridiculously comfy couch, he was about to settle down again when he heard Winnie scream. Spike was off the couch in a matter of seconds and ran to Winnie's room. He opened the door and froze for a second to see Winnie tossing and turning with tears streaming down her face.

"Spike!" cried Winnie, this made Spike spring into action and went over to Winnie's bed and placed a gentle hand on Winnie's arm.

"Winnie its ok, its ok"

"Spike come back!"

"I'm here Winnie!"

"Spike please you can't die!"

Spike gently shook Winnie and her eyes shot open, she looked at Spike and sat up and hugged him tightly. "Please don't go Spike!"

"I'm not going anywhere Winnie" soothed Spike,

"I was an idiot Spike!"

"About what?"

"It was a stupid rule!

"Winnie what are you talking about?!"

"How some rules are meant to be broken"

Spike thought he understood what she was talking about. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Well I'm saying I'm going to break my dating no cops rule for you" smiled Winnie. Spike's face broke into a huge grin, he just felt like he had won the lottery and was the luckiest guy in the world. Winnie laughed at the look on Spike's face; Spike leaned forward and captured Winnie's lips in a soft kiss.

"Told you I'd wear you down" Spike said softly,

"No you didn't" laughed Winnie,

"Well I thought it anyway" replied Spike, Winnie's laugh was cut off when Spike leaned in to kiss her again. Spike settled down on the bed next to Winnie and held her close. Winnie never had a never nightmare again with Spike lying next to her and vice versa. Spike thought to himself I really am the luckiest guy in the world.