Author's Notes: Here's Chapter 3. Hope you enjoy. Thanks for the reviews, I love seeing what you think.

Disclaimer: The show Flashpoint and its characters were created by Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern and belong to them and its respective networks. I am making no money off this story and it is for entertainment purposes only. However, this particular story is my creation and should not be used without my express written permission.

Out in the Cold

Chapter 3

Sam would take the shot. Jules didn't have any doubts. She was on her knees with what she believed was Spike's Glock pressed against the back of her head and she'd heard the cock as the gun was ready to be fired. She was two seconds away from having her brains splashed against the front stoop of a farmhouse not all that different from the one she'd grown up in but inexplicably she wasn't scared. It wasn't that she was determined to face her death on her own terms with her head held high and with no fear on her face. She just knew with ever fiber in her body that Sam would never let Dublin pull the trigger. And so her eyes swept the area until she found him on top of the SUV and even from the distance her eyes met his in a silent plea.

Don't do it Sam. Don't take the shot. As much as she trusted that he would never idly stand - or in this case sniper position sprawl - by and watch as someone killed her or anyone else, she also knew she had to stop him. It was more than just her life on the line; Spike and Ashley were also in danger. Priority of life, remember Sam? Toth doesn't think we can follow the priority of life if we're together but I know we can. I know you can. Let me try to fix this.

"If you seriously look like you are going to pull that trigger then you are a dead man, Ronnie. No one in that house will be able to save you." Her voice was low and even. She was glad despite the fact that her head was still pounding out the rhythm to some song she couldn't recognize, her voice didn't betray how she was feeling.

"You'll be dead too." Ronnie warned.

"Maybe or maybe not. Those two guys you insulted - the ones with the guns - are two of the best shots I've ever seen. They don't know how to miss. You might kill me but they will definitely kill you. We don't make that shot unless we have to, so chances are the rest of your buddies will be arrested. Even if you and your buddies kill me, Spike, and Ashley, you might be the only one on your side to die.'

She couldn't see his face but she could almost imagine him smirking. "Three of you versus one of us sounds like a win for us."

"Not much of a win for anyone who has a bullet in the brain. I can't do much about the situation." Jules's voice never quavered ; she could have been debating pizza toppings instead of pleading for her life. "You, on the other hand, can. Pull the gun back and you get to live."

Ronnie shook his head. "Doesn't sound like you believe they care whether you live or die."

"Doesn't sound like Thomas does about you either. He sent you out here for a reason. We didn't know he had a twin so my team thinks you are him. Take down the leader and the rest of the gang scatters. He knows that, so he's more willing to put you at risk than himself. My team will do what they can to protect me but Ashley is their priority. If they think neutralizing Thomas Dublin will save her, they'll do it. Only instead of your brother, it will be you they take down because you are the one he sent out here to be his face."

For several seconds longer nothing changed and Jules wasn't sure her words had made an impact. Therefore, she was relieved when the pressure of the gun muzzle moved away from her head. Once more, her eyes searched out Sam's. She needed the connection, at least for a moment to once more center herself. She wasn't scared; she would refuse to admit she was, even if it was with her dying breath. So while she wouldn't say she was scared, she knew her situation - and Spike's - was precarious.

She was also pretty sure Sam needed the reassurance as much as she did - maybe even more. He was, by his very nature, protective; he wouldn't handle anyone on the team being in danger well. The fact that he was seeing her in danger and bleeding would be even worse. She could only hope she could convey with her eyes what she needed him to know.

I'm okay even if I don't look like it. I trust you to have my back. I know I'll be okay, that Spike will be okay. We'll take care of each other until you and the rest of the team figure things out.

"She lives for now, Pukeface." Ronnie Dublin reported to Greg. "How long she and the others remain that way is yet to be determined. You make any funny moves or come near the house and I'll take care of her personally."

He grabbed her ponytail and gave it a sharp yank, pulling her back to her feet. Jules growled in pain as having her hair pulled only exacerbated the pounding in her head. She was dragged backward into the house.

Thomas met Ronnie at the door and clapped him on the back. "Good job, Brother. You showed them who was boss. Too bad you didn't cap Miss Piggy while you were out there. It would have made all the pigs squeal."

The grip Ronnie had on Jules's arm tightened. "Except I'm not the boss, am I? That's you. What's up with sending me out there, Thomas? Were you wanting them to kill me or something?"

Thomas frowned. "What's gotten you worked up? They weren't going to kill you. Not with us threatening their friends."

It was clear that Thomas wasn't used to being questioned. There was an edge to his voice that was evident even as he tried to come off nonchalant. Ronnie shook his head. "Why didn't you go out there then? You're the boss; you call the shots. Why is it you send me in your place when things get dicey?"

Thomas grabbed Jules by her protective vest and slung her against the wall. With her arms secured behind her, she couldn't catch herself and she slid to the ground. Spike called out in protest but Jules shook her head. She wasn't hurt and for the moment, Thomas's anger was directed at Ronnie and not her.

"Since when did you start questioning my decisions? I don't have to explain my orders to you or any of the rest of the idiots. I'm the brains of this outfit; I do the thinking. You just do whatever the hell I tell you to do."

"And if I catch a bullet with your name on it, all the better, is that it? You don't worry about people gunning for you because you send me in your place, your own personal fucking stunt double. Why is that? Are you too much of a chicken shit to put yourself in danger?"

Thomas's hand flashed out and Ronnie was on the floor, blood spurting from his nose. "Don't you dare talk to me with such disrespect. Not after all I've done for you."

Then the leader looked to where Jules was still slumped on the floor. His gaze narrowed and his nostrils flared. Looking from her to his brother and back again, it seemed like his anger increased with every passing second. Then he nodded.

"Someone's been planting ideas in your head. Miss Piggy's been yapping in your ear trying to save her bacon, right?" He moved to stand over her. Anticipating the kick just seconds before his leg moved, Jules rolled away from him. The move saved her ribs from extra pain as the kick caught her in the buttocks instead. He grabbed her ponytail, and once more it felt like she was being pulled baldheaded. A knee pressed solidly into her back with bruising force and he twisted her head sharply to the right so that he could see her face. "Listen, Bitch, and listen carefully; nobody tries to come between me and my brother, especially not some high and mighty bitch pig." Almost every other word was punctuated by a sharp stinging slap across her face.

"Stop it! Leave her alone." Spike protested. He started to rise from his seat to go to her aid. Immediately several guns cocked and one muzzle pressed against his temple warning him back into his seat. As much as he wanted to help Jules, he was powerless to do anything.

A ringing cell phone offered the reprieve Spike couldn't give. Thomas released his hold and shoved her toward Spike and the empty chair as if he'd already forgotten her. While Spike was glad Thomas wasn't hurting Jules anymore, he inwardly cursed that he was handcuffed to the chair and not in the command truck so he could monitor the communication. He doubted anyone else on the team would know what to do and would therefore not be privy to any vital information they might get from the call.

Jules's body was aching, especially her head, face and ribs; it would be so tempting to stay on the floor where she was and just rest her pounding head against the seat of the chair. Instead she forced herself to rise and sit in the chair properly. Anything other action seemed tantamount to admitting she was hurt and she would be damned if she gave her captors the satisfaction.

"Jules?" Spike ventured as the other members of the gang temporarily ignored them as they were more interested in the conversation Dublin was now having with the person on the other end of the call.

"The team knows were in trouble. They'll get us out of here. I bet Ed's already got an action plan." And Sam will move heaven and earth to get us - me - free. Jules focused on what she knew the team would be doing even though she was pretty sure that wasn't what Spike was about to ask about.

"Jules…" His tone indicated he knew exactly what she was doing.

Jules glanced around, ignoring the shift in his tone. Ashley was no longer in the room with them and that concerned her. Even knowing it was the teenager who had originally stunned her, Jules still felt that she was a victim in all this. "Where's Ashley?"

Spike sighed. "After Thing 2 took you outside, she was sobbing pretty uncontrollably. Apparently she was getting on Thing 1's nerves so he had her removed from the room. It wasn't one of the guys who took her," Spike was quick to add. There was no way he would have risked the girl getting raped again if he could help it. "Thomas Dublin's got a girlfriend apparently. Ashley is with her in another part of the house."

"A girlfriend who apparently doesn't mind if her boyfriend makes a habit of raping young girls. Nice."

"Jules, I need you to promise me something. I get why you tried pitting the brothers against each other. Brilliant move but Dublin's obviously not playing with a full deck. Don't antagonize him anymore. If it has to be done, let me do it."

"I can handle it. Spike; it's not like I can't take a few bruises and such. I'm not some fragile weakling who can't accept the risks of the job." She knew she wasn't being fair; Spike probably more than anyone on the team had always allowed her to carry her own weight without treating her with kid gloves. But it was easier to doubt him than herself.

"Hell, you don't think I know that? He could probably beat the shit out of you and you'd ask him if it was the best he could do, especially if you thought it would throw him off or help protect Ashley. I'm asking for purely selfish reasons."

Jules snorted, "Right, you've developed a pain fetish and want the experience of feeling like a punching bag."

"Yeah, right. I'm the one who can complain about a paper cut like it's a five inch slash. I'd be more than willing to let you take all the shit beating but how's that going to look when we get out of here? You with all the war wounds and me with just a busted ankle from my line getting cut? It'd look like I didn't pull my weight or something. I'd never live it down."

"Right, because we all know what a slouch you are. Fine, if it's possible to let you take the lead and the risk I will, but when it comes down to it, I'll do what I have to do in order to protect Ashley." She didn't add that she wasn't sure Dublin wouldn't continue to take out his aggression on her regardless of what Spike did. She recognized his type, a man who objectified women just because he could.

"You two, shut the fuck up before I gag the two of you." Dublin had finished his phone call. He eyed his two captives with derision, but didn't do anything more than his warning. He looked at his men. "Marty came through for us. He's got a safe house all lined up; we just have to get there. You two start loading up the munitions." Dublin directed two of his men and then raised his voice. "Em, get yer ass in here."

An attractive woman, probably about ten years younger than Jules came into the room. Jules decided this must be the girlfriend Spike had mentioned. The woman put her hands to her hips. "Yeah, Tommy?"

"We aren't going to be able to hold the pigs at bay indefinitely even with the threat to their friends. We got a place but we can't leave anything behind. How long will it take you to dismantle everything and get it loaded?"

"I assume you want the cameras left running 'til the last possible moment." When Dublin nodded, the woman continued. "At least an hour by myself, longer if I have to continue to baby sit the brat."

"We'll bring her back in here. I'll shut her up one way or another. An hour is too long; what if gave you one of the knuckleheads?"

Jules could almost see the brunette's wheels turning. "Depending on which knucklehead, anywhere from forty minutes to two hours."

Thomas looked over at his brother. "Ronnie, you going to accuse me of putting you at risk if I send you to help Emily?"

Ronnie, his nose no longer bleeding, glowered. "I'll help her."

"Okay, we'll be ready to pull out in thirty."

Neither Ronnie nor Emily protested that it was ten minutes less than what Emily promised. Another man went with them and returned a moment later with Ashley. She was no longer crying but as she sank into the cushion, she curled up on herself and refused to look at Spike and Jules. The guy who had escorted her back did however.

"Hey Thomas? What about these two? What will we do with them?"

Dublin smiled. "They'll help us with getting out of here without their friends getting itchy trigger fingers. Once they've outlived their usefulness, we won't need them, anymore; they'll be expendable. At that point, they're dead."

- FP - FP - FP -

"Flash grenades and smoke bombs." Ed offered. Since the radios were compromised, he and Sam had temporarily left their perches on top of the SUVs to discuss a plan of attack. "While they are distracted we can get the drop on them."

Sam frowned. "It's risky. We don't know what condition Spike or the girl is in but we know Jules is hurt. Using the gas is risky."

"Spike and Jules know the risks; they've trained for it even." Ed argued. "Looked like Jules's injuries were mild. Not that anything slows her down."

Sam's jaw rocked. They all had a tendency of getting caught up in the indestructible persona Jules liked to depict at work. He doubted anyone else on the team had an inkling of the number of times she'd downplayed or completely hidden injuries from them. Injuries that he only got to see or be privy to because he shared a bed with her and that was one place nothing could be hidden.

Though he hated to see them, he'd stopped commenting on the minor injuries he'd find after a tough shift as he worshipped her perfect body. For the more serious bruises or pulled muscles, he curtailed his natural instinct to freak out and limited himself to simply insisting on the ice pack or muscle rub he knew she'd never get or ask for herself.

Sometimes it wasn't so much that she hid injuries but that she ignored them to the point even she seemed to forget they were there. Sarge would probably freak out if he knew how many bruised or cracked ribs she'd gotten at work simply because she threw herself wholeheartedly into a task and pushed past limits that would have stopped or at least slowed down the rest of them. Sam knew without a doubt Sarge would skin him and Jules both if he ever found out about the concussion she'd gotten three months ago.

Ed had still been recovering from his gunshot wound and Sam was filling in as temporary team leader. When Grayson with Team 6 had challenged Team 1 to a test of skills, Sam had agreed. It was a good way to cross train with guys who might fill in on occasion for another team. Sam was also confident that his team could defeat Team 6 in any challenge. It was a confidence that wasn't shaken as the day wore on, as Team 1 won challenge after challenge.

The final challenges of the day were the hand to hand combats. Jules had been paired again a large, cocky rookie from the other team who had yet to learn what a formidable opponent she was. She'd already bested him at the obstacle course, rock wall, the gun range, and had already pinned him twice. She was standing to the side waiting for Sam to blow the whistle to resume fighting so she could go for the third and final pin. Smarting over his losses, the rookie had swept his foot out even though time was called and tripped her. It would have been nothing more than a dirty trick but Jules was so close to the edge of the mat that as she fell, her head bounced on the concrete floor. They'd all been horrified and ready to rush to check on her, when she gotten right back up and pinned the guy again.

It had only been that night as they made love- this time at Sam's apartment - that he'd discovered the rather large and tender bump on the back of her head. As he'd further checked her out, he then noticed that her eyes were a little off. When she'd reluctantly admitted to a severe headache, he'd insisted on taking her to the Emergency Room to get it checked out. The doctor had diagnosed a slight concussion and had recommended she take at least a week off from work. But in typical Jules fashion, she'd been right back at work the next shift despite Sam's pleas that she listen to the doctor. She'd refused to listen saying the two days they already had off was ample time.

So now, hearing Ed dismiss her injuries after Sam had seen her look injured was tearing him up. He couldn't say anything, couldn't confess his fears without giving away how he knew it was more. "I still say it's too risky."

"Sam, you're usually the one wanting to make the preemptive strategic move." Ed countered.

Sam knew he was walking a dangerous line. He could almost hear Jules warning him to be careful lest he gave them away. "Yeah, and you're usually the one busting my chops for wanting to make rookie mistakes. I don't like Spike and Jules being in danger any more than you do but we can't go rushing in there and putting all three in maybe even more danger. If this were any other case with no visible immediate threat, we'd hold off on a direct action plan and try to talk the subject down."

"Sam's right." Sarge agreed. "We've got to play this one by the books."

"He was prepared to kill Jules execution style." Ed continued to argue. He'd felt helpless as a leader knowing one of his team was in danger and being unable to do anything. He knew Sam had the shot and trusted that the younger man would have intervened before Dublin could kill Jules but it hadn't erased his feeling of letting her down. After all, it had been his plan to send Jules and Spike into the house in the first place. And now they were in danger.

"But he didn't," Sarge countered.

"Jules talked him down." Sam added. "I don't know what she said to him but I could see her talking to him through the scope." He didn't add that he'd felt like she was talking him down as well. His finger had been itching to pull the trigger and eliminate the risk. It had taken every ounce of control he had and then some to keep from firing.

Sarge nodded and reached for his headset. "I think it's time I tried talking to Dublin again."

- FP - FP - FP -

For the first little bit after Thomas had sent everyone scrambling to pack things up, Spike, Jules and Ashley had been ignored. But then Thomas came to sit down next to Ashley. Though the teenager had cringed away from him, he used his superior strength to draw her closer. His hand roamed beneath the girl's shirt and even traumatized, Ashley tried to squirm free. His eyes were practically twinkling as he watched the two officers.

Spike clenched his jaw, knowing he had to step in and wanting to, not just to keep Jules from doing so but because it made him sick to see the teenager being violated right in front of him. Even though his hands were cuffed behind him and there wasn't much he could really do, he was prepared to try. Spike was pretty sure Dublin was trying to egg on a reaction so he tried to think of a way of distracting him another way. It wasn't that he didn't want to provoke him but that he didn't want to give the man the satisfaction of knowing he'd gotten to him at the expense of Ashley.

"Emily said something about cameras. Is that how you knew we were coming in?"

Thomas smirked. "Yeah, saw the two of you coming around the house and the rest of was easy. Put Ashley here upstairs and warned her I was right outside and would kill her if she tried to escape. Didn't take her long to shock the fuck out of Miss Piggy and then cut your line. I'm almost proud of her."

"Dublin, we should talk." Greg's voice sounded almost tinny over the headset. Funny how it sounded different when it wasn't exactly in your ear.

Thomas snorted and turned on the transmit button. "We don't have anything to discuss until I'm ready with my demands. Shouldn't be too much longer. Until then, shut up."

He turned off the head set again. He looked at Spike and Jules. "You two ever get tired of listening to him just yammer on? Ever turn off the headset just to shut him up?"

Ronnie returned. "Em's just about got things loaded. Since you are the brains, you figured out a way to get past the pigs outside?"

Thomas rose from the couch. "That won't be a problem. First things first though."

He moved to stand in front of Jules and pulled her to her feet. Without a word he unfastened the cuffs that bound her hands together. Before she could capitalize on her freedom, he jerked at the Velcro on her Kevlar vest. He tossed it aside.

"Now, strip."