Title: The Slip

Summary: Alternate ending to Unconditional Love

Disclaimer: I don't own them :(

"How is he, Boss?" Ed Lane asked his negotiator team mate, Greg Parker.

"Physically, he's got a broken arm, mentally….I don't know, Eddy. This'll be a tough one for him."

"It was an accident."

"Yeah, he knows that, we know that, but it doesn't change the fact that he just shot and killed a seventeen year old kid, Ed."

Ed drew in a deep breathe, he knew what it was like to shoot someone dead, the emotions that took over were difficult when the suspect was a threat to the public or a team mate. But this, this today, even a trained sniper would have difficulties absorbing and dealing with the guilt. "I'll to speak to him, Greg, I think I can help, but he's going to need some professional help. He's not going to handle it well."

"I know, Ed." Greg frowned shaking his head, "He's probably the least equipped member of this team in terms of dealing with the deadly force that was used today."

"Exactly, and it was a stupid accident. God the flashbacks are gonna' kill him."

"Ed, it's worse than that."

"How so?"

"I think Spike connected to Paul, understood him."

"In what way?"

"Paul has a higher than average intelligence, so does Spike. He's never mentioned it but I think Spike's teenage years weren't the easiest. This kid's home life was difficult, maybe not with his mother, but his sister. We all know Spike's home life is full of tension." Greg just shook his head.

"Well…we'll just have to all help him through this, it wasn't his fault; it was an accident." Ed knew he sounded like a broken record but the whole thing was just so shocking.

Ed had had the perfect vantage point to witness the whole thing. He, Wordy and Sam had arrived on the scene first. He instructed Sam to find a sniper position, and then he and Wordy made contact with Paul. The teen was on the outdoor skating rink holding a young woman at gun point. Ed tried talking to him and knew he wasn't getting through to the young man, he was just agitating him more. He remembered feeling relieved when Greg arrived.

Greg had asked him how Paul was and he'd told him the boy had been agitated and unresponsive. Ed senses easily slipped from negotiator to strategic leader. He quickly looked around searching out his team mates. Jules was with Paul's mother, making sure she didn't run into the line of fire. Sam continued to be kneeled by a garbage can in sniper mode. Wordy stood to Ed's right, his weapon trained on the teenage kid Greg was talking down. Spike was covering the unarmed Greg.

Everything was progressing well, Greg was getting through to the kid, Ed couldn't see Paul's face as he was facing Greg and Spike with his back to him, but Ed could hear it in the young man's voice. Greg was doing a beautiful job explaining to the kid that he wasn't a killer. He'd done a brave thing today in saving a baby. The serial killers Paul had been studying wouldn't have done that. Paul was beginning to listen to Greg, and more importantly he was beginning to believe him.

Greg stepped closer toward Paul and Spike being his cover did so as well. That's when all hell broke loose. Spike's foot slipped out from under him and down he went, when his arm hit the ice surface his gun fired, a bullet hitting Paul in the chest. The teen went down like a sack of potatoes.

Tracey, his captor, screamed and started running, Greg grabbed her. Sam was on his feet in a second and running onto the ice surface, stopping when he reached Paul. Wordy ran to the teenager as well. Knowing his teammates were looking after Paul and Tracy, Ed ran to his downed teammate while Jules held back Paul's mother.

Spike was trying to get to his feet and managing terrible, he looked up at Ed when he arrived, "It was an accident."

"I know, I know. You okay?"

"Think my arm is broken, what about Paul, Tracey?"

"Tracey's okay, Paul, I don't know. Wordy and Sam are with him. Don't worry about him, let's get you looked after."

Ed sat in the plastic chair in the emergency waiting room with Parker, waiting for Spike's arm to be set and cast. Spike had been told the kids fate on the way to the hospital and had gone into a trance like state. The paramedics explained it was part of the shock he was feeling. It was his body's way of shutting the incident out until he was better able to process it. His body at the moment was working and concentrating on mending his arm. Once the pain was managed, the realization that he'd shot and killed a teenage kid would sink in, and then, the paramedics explained, his emotional state would definitely not be in a very good place.

As much as Ed would like to say he couldn't imagine what Spike was going through, he couldn't. Although he'd never shot and killed someone without being given the order, he'd nearly shot an innocent a couple of times. Although Paul wasn't innocent, everyone on the team knew he wasn't the psychopath that Jules had originally thought he was.

"How'd it happen?" Ed turned to Greg who sat beside him.

"Freak accident. There was a pebble stuck in the treads of his boot, made his boot slippery."

"Jesus."