So this is my first Flashpoint fanfic. I just started watching the show on Netflix a month or two ago and am already caught up halfway through season 4, to where the availability stops after 4.07 (grrr! Such a Spike cliffhanger for me, GAH!) Can't wait to catch up over the summer, when my pre-ordered season 4 DVD arrives!

This fanfic is set within season 2, a week before "Last Dance," pre-"One Wrong Move," because I love and miss Wordy and Lou too much not to have them around. It is also not-so-loosely based on the true story of my struggles with depression and anxiety over the last two years. So the first category is clearly drama, in its own way. Ask questions if you wish and I'll answer them either at the top of every future chapter or, if they are too personal, in a Private Message.

From the moment I started watching Flashpoint (which was roughly a month or two ago, that's how fast I caught up, haha), Spike immediately became my favorite character. He's just so cute and I just love geeks (I mean, my favorite character on NCIS is McGee, so... come on, I'm a geek-loving girl, what can I say? Lol.) I also feel bad for him because he's so frequently alone, so that being said, the second category will probably be OC romance. I won't be offended if you choose not to read the story because of that, but I promise you, I will try to make her as little Mary-Sue as possible. But it is fanfic and I believe Spike doesn't get nearly the attention he so clearly deserves, and in more ways than one, I'm happy to oblige. =)

As to reviews, please do review, but as I'm new to the story and this category, please be thorough but gentle. Please overlook any geographical grievances, as I'm American and have never been to Toronto. Thanks. =)

Standard disclaimers apply. I'm a poor college student, graduating in a week and a half. Please don't sue me, I'm poor. :( But if Spike were mine... hehehe. Oh! Before I forget, I don't own any references to or borrowed from episode 1.04, "Asking for Flowers," or episode 4.06, "A Day in the Life." Nor do I own any references to or borrowed from NCIS episode "Leap of Faith" (5.05, one of my all-time favorite episodes.) But they helped this story get the chapter started.

Here is Breathe Me (title credit goes to singer Sia... YouTube the lyrics and you will see just how closely they relate to the story.) So here we go.

Breathe Me

Chapter 1


June 1, 2009 seemed like it was just going to be a normal day for the SRU Team One. Everyone arrived to work at 5am and met in the barn to discuss the day's plans.

"Alright, we've got no calls yet, but the day is still young," said Sergeant Greg Parker. "And so, I'm going to call today a patrol day."

The team grinned; it was their favorite kind of day, next to days where they responded to hot calls, made the right decisions, saved lives, and kept the peace.

Spike let out a whoop of excitement.

"All right," Wordy agreed, nodding in agreement.

"All right, so workouts then shift starts. We'll do a little Team One PR, let the city know we're here, keep the bad guys on their toes."

Ed, sitting next to Greg, smiled.

Spike raised his hand.

"Yeah, Spike?" Greg asked.

"Club district— me and Lou?" he asked. Greg didn't answer right away. "What?" Spike said, defending his reason for asking. "There's all kinds of trouble there all the time."

Greg nodded, knowing what Spike was onto. "Fine, patrol happy hour over there, all those very threatening young women in tube tops"— Jules smiled— "so just, uh, button up, huh? You and Lou— team Delta."

Spike looked down, then quickly buttoned his jacket. "Sorry."

"Be good, look good," Greg said, looking fondly at his team. "Jules," he said to her, who was also buttoning up her jacket, "still representing the force. Bravo Team with Sam. Eddie, Mr. Wordsworth, team Alpha?"

"East End, roving gangs of families, runaway strollers and whatnot," said Ed.

"Mhm, it's all yours," said Greg, raising his hand.

"We'll take west," Jules volunteered immediately. She bent down closer to Sam, as she continued buttoning up. "I'm thinking chicken roti at Island Foods?"

"Hey, we'll take west," Spike piped up, hearing Jules mention the delicious Italian food.

"Uh-uh," Jules teased.

"You got tube tops," Greg said, straight-faced.

"Yeah," Jules teased.

Greg clapped his hands together twice, then raised them encouragingly. "I'll be Team Charlie with Rolie. Let's go keep the peace."

Wordy quickly downed the rest of his cup of coffee, then followed Ed to the SUV.

However, despite the team being on patrol, it didn't take long for the hot call siren to blare. Winnie immediately fed them information.

"Team One, hot call. Subject's a jumper, female, 20's. Don Valley Parkway bridge."

"Gear up," said Greg, and the team immediately sprang into action.

On their way to the scene in the SUVs, Ed and Wordy up front, Sam and Jules behind, Spike and Lou following, closely followed by Greg, Ed asked questions.

"Is the area contained?"

"Negative," Winnie replied. "Cars on the overpass are stopped by unis. Traffic is moving freely below. Only Good Samaritan intervention so far was the 911 call."

"Winnie, what do we know about the subject?" Greg asked.

"Subject's female, 20's, speaks English, emotionally upset."

"That's it, huh?" Greg pondered.

Wordy's voice came over the radios. "Spike, send us all schematics on the Don Valley Parkway bridge."

"Copy that."

After a minute, Ed asked, "How high's the overpass?"

"97 feet," said Sam. "If the fall doesn't get her, the traffic will."

Ed sighed. "OK, Winnie, set up roadblocks. Let's get this highway shut down."

"Copy that," said Winnie.

A short while later, Team One arrived on the scene. Everyone got out of the SUVs and ran to meet up at the side of the bridge. The young woman stood about twenty feet away from them.

"OK, guys, we gotta contain this," Ed said, looking to his teammates for input.

Sam was first. "Wordy and I'll coordinate with the unis, get people back in their vehicles and the non-drivers off the bridge."

"Fast is good," Jules advised. "Maybe she abandoned a car. Let's find out who this woman is."

"I'll look for the car," said Greg. "Spike, you find out who this young lady is. Jules, you want lead on this?"

"Sure," said Jules.

"Connect, respect, protect," Greg said to the team.

Ed nodded. "OK, let's get this young lady home safe."

"Let's go," said Greg.

Meanwhile, Sam and Wordy had worked quickly to get people back in their cars and road blocks set up.

"Boss, this car's empty. Registration says it's titled out to an Adele Black," said Wordy.

"Boss, we can get a picture of her with our phone, send it through to DMV to confirm," Spike suggested.

"Only if we can get close enough," said Greg. "Jules?"

Jules stepped closer to the young woman, who was sitting on the barrier, her legs dangling precariously. One slight moment of imbalance and she would go over the edge and fall onto the highway and into the fast-moving traffic below.

"Hi. My name is Jules. How're you doing?" Jules asked her. The woman didn't respond. Jules studied her quickly; she was pretty, with long ash-brown hair tied back in a severe ponytail. Jules could see, even from a distance, that she had vivid green eyes. She was wearing a greyish-blue T-shirt, brown pants, and brown Tevas sandals. "What's your name?"

"Stay away from me!" the woman shouted.

"I just want to talk," Jules said calmly.

The young woman shook her head nervously. "No!"

"It would be easier if I knew your name," said Jules.

The young woman squeezed her eyes shut, then yelled, "I said, leave me alone!"

"Jules, deescalate," Greg prompted her.

Jules closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then opened them. "Ma'am, are you planning on killing yourself today?" she asked. Jules focused hard on the young woman, then she caught the slightest nod. "Can I ask you what you're thinking? What brought you here today, ma'am?"

"I'm gonna be okay," the young woman said quietly.

Sam was a short distance away, talking to the uniformed Local Enforcement Officer in charge.

"So she hasn't mentioned anyone by name?"

The officer shook his head, then walked away. Sam went and got into one of the SVUs, trying to start establishing contact with a next-of-kin, a friend, a teacher, a coworker, anyone who might be able to help.

Suddenly the young woman stood up. Ed, seeing things start to escalate, ran over toward her.

"OK, let's just take a minute here!" Jules commanded, as calmly as she could.

"Ma'am, I wouldn't do that!" Ed yelled.

"Don't touch me, don't touch me!" the young woman yelled. "You touch me, I go down!"

"That's a decision you cannot take back, ma'am!" Jules called to her.

"I'm gonna do this my way," the young woman commanded, her voice strong.

"We're gonna give you some space, OK?" Jules said, pushing Ed and Spike back.

"Winnie," Spike said, "we got crowd control issues and a jumper who's accelerating. "Boss, phone time?"

"Do it," said Greg.

Jules took Spike's phone and held it up. The young woman glared at her.

"What are you doing?" she demanded, as Jules clicked the OK button and snapped the photo.

"You won't give us your name," said Ed. "We want to find out who you are."

Jules sent the photo message to Winnie, who started running it through the Toronto DMV.

"Jules, your photo matches to a driver's license whose name matches the vehicle's registration. Adele Black," said Winnie.

"Your name's Adele," said Jules. "Do you remember my name? It's Jules." Adele wouldn't look at Jules. Adele, please look at me. I bet you're a real nice person. I'm sure you have friends who love you and care about you. Are you from here?" Adele nodded. "Does your family live here?"

"Affirmative, Jules," said Sam. "Her dad's address is listed as Harbour Front, off Queen's Quey East. Mom's address is listed as Keele Street."

"Do you want to talk to your family, Adele?" Jules asked.

"No."

"I bet they're worried about you," said Jules.

"My dad and stepmom don't care."

"What do you mean?" Jules asked.

"They don't care what I'm going through, that I'm in pain; how I feel when I'm alone at night. That my friendships are diminishing every day," said Adele. Suddenly, she seemed to realize she'd said too much. She shook her head, then snapped, "Look, you're not gonna get to know me, alright? So don't act like you understand or like what I say matters. Just leave me alone and let me do this!"

"I can't do that, Adele. I can't leave you alone, trying to kill yourself. I want to understand why you want to do this. I want to help. I only want to help."

"I don't think she's hearing ya," said Spike. "It's time to take the gloves off. You try 'reality check'?"

"OK." Jules quickly hooked herself to the bridge with a grapple, climbed on and straddled the barrier.

"So you wanna jump?" Adele nodded. "Do you want me to tell you what actually happens? I can tell you, cuz I've seen it. I can tell you what happens when your body smacks to the ground and your skull explodes. Do you wanna hear about that?"

Adele was silent, so Jules went on.

"You wanna know what's even worse? What's even worse is you might not die when your body hits the cement. And your family, and if you have kids, they're gonna see it. What's left of you, and they're gonna have to live with what's left of you. That's not what you want, is it?"

Spike caught Adele's gaze sliding toward Jules, although she did not turn her head.

"She's hearing ya. She's getting the picture," he said.

"Jules," Sam said, "a college friend of Adele's says she's a straight arrow. Little alcohol, no drugs. Stand by." As instructed, Jules waited. After a minute or so, Sam came back over the radio. "OK, she says Adele is a social drinker, and she's employed. She just graduated college recently with a liberal arts degree. Active in music, loves horses, acts in musicals, great singer. She cashiers at Safeway and dreams of one day grooming and exercise riding horses for a living. Sounds like a good kid."

Jules nodded, absorbing this information quickly.

"Hey, I've got a suicide note. She's apologizing to someone. 'Sorry I wasn't good enough, in so many ways. Sorry I didn't know where I was going in life. I spent so much time trying to please everyone else, help them, and make sure they were happy and OK, that I could no longer please or help myself or take care of myself. I only wish it was enough'."

"I'm tired of being in pain," said Adele. Jules immediately returned her attention to the young woman. "I'm tired of the intense loneliness; of people not choosing to spend time with me because they want to, but instead, because they feel obligated to, to not hurt my feelings; of only feeling any emotion toward animals anymore; of losing interest in things I used to love. You hear little, off-handed remarks about how you're 'helpless,' 'worthless,' 'hopeless.' In your mind, you know it's a joke and on the outside, you laugh and it's funny for real, but then, in your heart, you hear it so, so often that it builds up and after you hear it enough, you start to believe it and it's not funny anymore."

"Who tells you that, Adele?" Jules asked her. "You can tell me. I'm not going to lie to you, Adele. You haven't lied to me, either."

"My dad, Jules," said Adele. "The one man whom I grew up thinking was golden, perfect. It took me most of my life to realize what a stubborn, controlling ass he is, even though I love him to death. My mom knows how our relationship is off and on, but there's nothing she can do to help, because she went through this, too, before they divorced. I wouldn't want to be married to him, either. I'm glad I'm not, but honestly, I don't always consider my stepmom to be the right woman for him, either. My stepmom, my mom, my stepsister, me, we all have depression, anxiety. Who's the common denominator?"

"She mentioned depression and divorce. This is depression, not impulse. Shift focus away from the pain," said Spike.

Jules held up a clean blue handkerchief. "Here, wipe your tears with this handkerchief," she said. "I'm not going to touch you or hurt you. We are not going to force you to come down."

Adele did not take the handkerchief. Instead, she said, "I'm done here."

"You're not done here!" Jules said firmly.

"I just... I'm done," Adele said.

"You know what your family is gonna think, if you do this, Adele?" Jules asked firmly. "Your mom, your dad. I know you're mad at your dad and you feel like talking to him hasn't helped, but that doesn't mean anyone wants you dead. You're at a point in your life where things are rough, because things are changing. It's not worth taking your life. Do you hear me? It's not worth losing your life."

"Jules," said Sam, "her friend says Adele has a twin sister, Kate. Lives at a group home in Toronto. She has cerebral palsy. She's been a full-time permanent resident there for three years, since their dad was involved in a motorcycle-vehicle accident and was seriously injured. He eventually recovered fully, but couldn't care for Kate while he recovered. It turned out to be the best decision for Kate and her family."

"Your sister?" Jules asked Adele. "Adele, look at me." Adele looked at Jules. "She's gonna be confused and your family? They're gonna be mad and upset and then they're gonna have guilt and they're gonna think it's their fault. And they're gonna wonder what they did wrong. What didn't they do? What about your sister, will she even understand at all? Will she know where you went and that you're never coming back? Huh? You want that?"

Adele stood there for a long moment, silent. Then she asked, "If I come down, will I have to see my parents?"

"No, Adele," said Jules. "You're an adult. You have the right not to see them or talk to them, unless you decide you're ready and you want to. OK?"

After another very long moment, to the team's immense relief, Adele stepped back, then stepped off the barrier. Spike rushed forward and grabbed her securely around the waist, as she dissolved into tears and crumpled to the ground.

"I'm sorry... I'm so, so sorry..."

"No, no, no, it's OK," said Jules, holding her close. "You don't have to say that."

"Subject's been contained," said Spike. "Stand by for decision to contact family."

"Copy that," said Greg.

"I'm sorry, Jules. It was so stupid," Adele cried.

"You got nothing to be sorry about, my friend. Nothing, all right?" Jules said firmly, holding her close.

Spike offered his hand and helped both Jules and Adele stand up. Once she was standing safely on the ground, he pulled her into a hug. He could feel her body shaking with unshed sobs. When he released her, she looked up at him through puffy, bloodshot, exhausted eyes.

"I'm Mike," said Spike.

"Adele. "

"Yeah, I know," he said, giving her a sideways cheeky grin.

Adele chuckled.

"Aha," said Spike, "there it is."

"What?"

"A smile," said Spike.

Adele smiled again, stronger this time.

Greg and Ed came over to where Jules, Spike, and Adele stood.

"Adele, this is Greg and Ed, our sergeant and Team Leader," said Spike.

"Hi," said Ed, nodding and smiling warmly.

"Hi, Adele," said Greg. "Thank you for coming down off the barrier. You made the right choice today." He smiled. "It's gonna be okay."

"We're gonna take you to the hospital to get you checked out, and then we're gonna talk to you some more, okay?" Ed asked her. With a quick 'we've got her' directed at Steve, the ambulance and remaining uniformed officers left the scene.

Adele nodded. She followed Spike to one of the trucks, then climbed in next to him. She buckled herself in, then leaned her head on his shoulder and quickly dropped off to sleep.

Greg's voice came over the radio as they drove to the hospital.

"Great job out there today, everyone, especially Spike, Jules. We saved Adele's life. We kept the peace. Well done, everyone."

Jules, who was driving, looked at Spike. "She really connected with you, didn't she?"

"Yeah, she did," Spike said. "She connected with you, too, though."

"Yeah, but not like that," said Jules, inclining her head toward the sleeping woman.

Spike smiled, then stared determinedly at the road the rest of the way.


Adele's name comes from the 2000 Jim Carrey movie, The Majestic, which I really enjoyed when I watched it recently for the first time— not the British pop singer, just to clarify.

I hope it doesn't resemble the borrowed episodes too much. I tried to alter things a bit to avoid that; I did the best I could.

Please review. Thanks.