AN: Hey guys! Here's the latest chapter.

Jam scene in there! (A scene from the show, given). The most avid Jam fans out there should recognize it after a few words, for the others, it shouldn't take more than a few paragraphs.

Heads up, but I'm off to a month-long trip. So next chapter should be up by the end of September.

Thanks again for all your wonderful reviews, for the follows and the favourites. You guys are love! (:

Jules squeezed her eyes shut and groaned both in pain and frustration as she felt the blade move out of her wound. The cool tip was followed with the warmth of her own blood, causing an odd sensation through the layers of her skin and adding an unwilling dizziness to her already worn out mind. She'd seen blood before, she'd even bled out and been shot before. But this was no bullet wound. It was slow and agonizing, feeling the blade go in and come right out was like something was being ripped out of her. She had time to feel the process in its entirety.

She forced her eyes open to look down at her wound, at the blood that was already escaping her body and warmly making its way down her stomach, soaking her black shirt and soon would reach her grey trousers. He had hit her right below the sternum meaning the blade had found a way to her organs. And now that the numbness of the initial shock faded, it hurt like a bitch.

She tried to push the throbbing pain away, willing herself not to whine. Her vision blurred, her head got even dizzier. She couldn't focus, the different pains from different parts of her body slowly overwhelming her. She could handle a lot, she trained hard so her body could take everything that was thrown at her. But this was getting tough to deal with.

She heard Flynn's sarcastic 'aww' but couldn't even bring her head up to scowl at him, not even as he continued. "Poor little thing. Not so tough now, mh?" He reached out and prodded her just above her fresh wound with his finger. This time, she couldn't stop the whimper that vibrated in her throat. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did that hurt?"

Even without seeing his face, the satisfactory smile and the sarcasm was obvious in his words. He moved away from her over to the folding table. Jules forced her gaze up to observe what he was doing only to find out it hurt her head too much. Letting her eyes close again, she listened to him rummaging around the room, possibly packing up the laptop and all his precious tools he used on her. She was trying to focus on that in order to forget about everything that was wrong with her and it worked to some extent.

A few minutes later, she heard him move towards the exit and he paused there. Once again, she opened her eyes and tried looking up at him. Everything was a blur, but she could make out his figure at the threshold, a bag strapped to his shoulder.

"I'll send Braddock your best regards."

She wanted to tell him to go fuck himself but even without the tape covering her mouth, she wasn't sure she would have been able to. Her eyes flashed with as much hatred as she could muster which triggered a last chuckle on Flynn's part and then he moved out of the room, leaving her trapped, alone and bleeding.

Letting out a long painful sigh through her nose, Jules prayed for the team to be close by. She wanted to succumb to unconsciousness and stop dealing with the pain but she knew she couldn't afford to lose her head and risk never waking up.

She wasn't entirely afraid to die. She'd been ready to die ever since she took the position with the SRU, knowing the risks that this kind of job entailed. But she's always been ready to die in the hopes of saving other people. Now, it would mean dying and putting Sam – of all people – in more danger.

Sam.

There wasn't anything she wished more than having him by her side right now, taking her in his arms, telling her everything was going to be alright. To know he was safe, to feel his warmth, to smell his intoxicating scent. To hear him tell her to use her sniper breathing techniques. Slow it down and hold, lower her heart rate…

"…you'll lose less blood."

While his voice appeared calm, she knew him well enough to hear the fear and distress behind it. She knew the idea of her slowly bleeding out on the other side of that glass was killing him possibly more than it was killing her, especially since there was nothing he could do.

She held her injured arm as tight as she could to try and stop the flow of blood to pour out. The piece of shrapnel that hit her artery was still lodged in and needed to remain that way but the pressure she applied only added to her discomfort. Her face was devoid of emotions, her eyes focused straight ahead as she slowly counted her breath.

Slow breath in.

Hold. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Slow breath out.

Sam claimed he was coming right in but she knew that was only a way to keep her calm. Xavier wouldn't let anyone in or out until he got what he wanted, even though she'd already told him the truth about the test results.

After a failed attempt to get herself and the hostages out of the room before the filiform level reached a point of no return, Jules had gone back to her position on the floor, trying to keep her breathing slow and steady, focusing on keeping a firm hold on her wound. It's when an alarm started beeping on one of the computers to her left that she became highly aware of the contamination threat and how fast they needed to get out. Her heartbeat increased as she looked back ahead of her, trying to gain control over her emotions, over her senses. This wasn't the end, she needed to keep fighting to stay conscious but fear was settling in and taking control over her body.

As if sensing her sudden distress, Sam spoke up. "Jules. Slow your breath. Okay?"

His voice was calm and comforting and just hearing it helped her relax, even in the slightest. But despite her best attempts to slow her breathing, her stress level was too high to counter and she was slowly giving into fatigue. Her body wanted to shut down, her brain wanted to compensate for the blood loss.

"Count it out. Keep your heart rate real' low."

For a second, she concentrated on just that, taking in Sam's words, taking comfort in the fact that he was right there with her. She could see him and while his expression conveyed fear and worry, she knew she had to listen to what he was saying. She took a few slow but shaky breaths, trying to follow his advice to the best of her capability.

Then soft whimpers by her side made her snap back to reality. There were still two hostages that needed to get to safety, one of them injured. Jules turned her attention up to the subject, her movements jerking, unnatural, as her mind was getting dizzier.

"Xavier, we're running out of time," she said, breathing it out as in a last effort to get through to him, using all the energy she had left to blurt out those few words. Then her vision went from blurred to spotted, darkness filling her eyes like she was about to faint.

"Jules… Jules?" Sam's worry was palpable. While the first time he said her name had a warning tone to it, the second was sheer concern.

She didn't even realize her body was tilting down until her right side touched the floor.

"Jules!" Now, it was all panic.

However, in this position, she felt her light-headedness subside a little, her near pitch-black vision leaving place to the whiteness of the lab surrounding her. She felt a hand on her arm over her own, applying extra pressure. The movement on the piece of shrapnel sent a rush of pain through her body.

"Is she okay?" Xavier's concern was real, if nothing else.

"She's lost a lot of blood," Dr. Applewood answered and then addressed her. "You gotta apply constant pressure, okay?"

"Okay." Her voice was higher-pitched from the pain she was trying to push away.

"Alright, keep your head down."

"Okay." She was mostly replying by mechanism as if to prove she was still conscious.

Then, Sam's voice filled the entire room, speaking directly to Xavier through the intercom, trying to get him to cooperate where she had failed. There was a pleading tone to his voice but Jules couldn't help but admire how levelled and controlled he was. Had this been the other way around, she wasn't sure she could have spoken with as much confidence, trying to reason with the man who might cause the love of her life to die.

When Xavier finally agreed to let both women go, she let out an unwilling sigh. She knew that technically, she couldn't leave until Dr. Applewood did as well because of the priority of life protocol but at least, they were getting the injured woman out.

"Jules, I'm on my way."

Sam's words echoed in her mind, soothing her. She replayed them over and over just to believe they were true.

They'd proven before that they made a good team through crisis, even more so now that they were back together and could communicate without words, understanding each other in a single glance, in a single breath. She could only hope that Sam wouldn't let his emotions get the best of him, that he would embrace the priority of life code despite her being down. He had to, if not for the other hostages, then at least for them, for their future on the team.

As the door opened to reveal a suited up Sam, their gaze locked for long seconds. Jules' was filled with relief but a hint of sadness for seeing him so close and yet so far. She silently begged him to go for Logan and not her. His body was angled towards her for too long but then he switched directions, sending her a last glance, asking for her forgiveness for leaving her bleeding on the cold ground. Jules watched as he picked the woman up and carried her to the decontamination chamber. As soon as he was in, his eyes went straight back on hers, his body language speaking volumes that he hated this situation, that he wanted to be back in there to pick her up. Jules would never hate him for it, no matter what he said. He was doing his job. They made vows not to let their relationship interfere with their work, and that was exactly what he was doing. But she kept looking at him, this constant eyes contact keeping her grounded, giving her the energy to keep fighting, to get out of this so he could finally wrap his arms around her properly.

It took long minutes before the news of the cover up came to her ears, but when it did, she needed to act fast. Helped up by Dr. Applewood, she explained to Xavier what she had just heard, prompting him to get out of the room with the doctor before the safety threshold of filiform level was breached. But Xavier turned her offer around and insisted she go first as he was already sick anyway.

This selfless act confirmed that he meant no harm but just wanted the truth. While he had gone through extremes to prove his point, she could understand him wanting to know why and how he had gotten sentenced to die a slow death.

As she was helped up and led to the decontamination chamber, she put most of her weight on the doctor, still holding her wound as tightly as she could. She then leaned back against the wall as she waited for the process to be over. She let out a long breath, a single whimper of pain escaping her lips, eager to be on the other side, safely by Sam's side.

If he could have opened the door quicker, he would have done it. It took a second after the teller light turned green for Sam to have his arms around her, getting her out and handing her over to the medic on scene. She was brought to a gurney, laid down and tended to. She badly wanted to tell them to leave her with Sam alone. She needed him close, like she's never needed anybody before. She heard Ed and the medic but ignored them, her eyes solely on the man she loved above anyone else as he was standing right by her side.

The medic brought an oxygen mask above her and just as he placed it on, she mouthed three words. I love you.

Their gaze locked for long seconds before Sam shot a glance behind him, as if making sure no one was watching. He then took his earpiece off and spoke those same three words. "I love you." They were filled with so much truth, tainted with relief and sorrow all the same that Jules felt her heart constrict in her chest, emotions overwhelming her. She gave him a faint nod to let him know she had heard him despite having a hard time responding to it otherwise. He nodded back in reassurance and she knew by that simple gesture that he was going to be the first one there waiting for her at the hospital, that he would be present for her all the way.

"You're gonna be okay, Jules."

And she was.

But was she, now?

Trying to push away the pain from her current stab wound, she replayed his words in her mind over and over again, as if it would make them come true. You're gonna be okay, Jules. As she counted her breathing to slow it down, she thought back on her own mouthed words back at the lab, hoping that by some miracle, they would travel the thousands of miles separating them now through thought process and reach Sam. I love you.

Greg had stopped counting the number of times he had checked his watch as he drove over to the location given by Spike. They had quickly caught up with Ed's SUV and despite their speed on the highway, they were at least 11 minutes over the 10-minute mark Flynn had mentioned. While he didn't expect this to necessarily be a precise time indicator, something in the back of the Sergeant's mind reminded him of the bombs Spike had disarmed under the SUVs and the one back in that building. 10 minutes could have very well been the timer countdown on a new one.

He shook that thought away when they finally pulled into the right street, blue and red lights still flashing from when they had darted on the highway but the sirens had been turned off. If Flynn was still in the house, then they needed to catch him, not scare him off and give him a chance to flee the scene. Both SUVs came to a stop a few houses short of the one that used to be owned by Brendan Cornell and Greg repressed a sigh of relief when he realized the house was still intact. No bombs had gone off, at least not yet. But he knew too well it didn't mean the situation inside was any better.

The SUVs were barely halted when all 5 officers darted out, leaving White locked in the back of one of the vehicles. They quickly grabbed the gear they would need and split up in two teams. Ed and Raf took the back door while Leah, Spike and Greg took the front.

Once they were in position, Ed stepped up to synchronize both teams. "On my mark. 1, 2, 3!" As soon as the third number was heard, both doors were slammed down with force. Ed was the first to step in, weapon raised, his senses on high alert, his heartbeat beating a little faster. It usually did when he was high on adrenaline but now that one of their own was in peril and they might be close to finding and rescuing her, it felt even stronger. "Police, SRU!" he shouted as both he and Raf moved in unison, clearing the back of the house and moving through the other rooms as fast as possible. The ground floor was clear and they soon met with the rest of the team at the stairwell that led upstairs. With quick hand motions that were used as silent codes between the officers, he sent Greg's team downstairs while he motioned that they would check the top floor. While he knew by the picture they had been sent that they would most likely find them in the basement, having the team's lead negotiator reach them first might be their best chance for now.

Ed moved up the stairs quickly, followed closely by Raf. If his hunch about the basement was right, then he wanted to clear the house as fast as possible and go give Greg some extra back up. Thankfully, the rooms were nearly empty since the house was still under construction, meaning that clearing them happened faster. It didn't take long before Ed and Raf met at the top of the staircase after confirming that all rooms were clear.

Ed was nearly running down the stairs when Greg's voice came in the team's comm. "They're not here." There was a hint of sorrow in his voice.

It stopped Ed right in his tracks, pausing mid staircase to take that in. "What?"

"I don't think they ever were, Eddie. Basement is completely empty. No sign of struggle. No blood, no marks. Nothing."

Ed clenched his teeth as he felt rage burning inside of him. Rage that was also tinted with failure. "Son of a bitch," he cursed as he resumed bolting down the stairs.

Just like he had been the first one in the house, Ed was also the first one darting out, his large steps heading over to the SUV he had vacated minutes before. He opened the back door, grabbed the man they held in custody by his shirt's collar and pulled him out with force before slamming him against the side of the vehicle. "Where are they!?" he yelled for emphasis, due to their proximity it was obvious the man would have heard him with a simple whisper.

White held his stare despite the obvious uneasiness for being pinned back with such force by the Team Leader's tall figure. He eyed the other officers as they closed in on them but didn't say anything. Ed pulled on his shirt with both hands this time before slamming him against the SUV once more. Normally, Greg would have told him to go easy on him but considering he was their only chance at getting Jules back, he observed silently.

Ed took a step forward and brought his forearm against the base of his neck to hold him in position as he leaned in, his face inches close to the man. His voice was considerably lower but the threatening edge was even more persistent. "I suggest you start talking and help yourself here because if she dies, you're going away for a much longer time. And that's if I don't put a bullet through you first."

White seemed to consider it for a moment. His eyes darted over to the Team's Sergeant as if expecting him to deny everything Ed had just said but he was met with a stoic face that didn't give anything away. Looking back towards the Team Leader, he frowned slightly.

"It's not gonna bring my brother-in-law back," he spoke up finally.

Ed's eyes narrowed at him. Spike hadn't found anything on the deceased man yet but things were starting to piece up. Did these men seek revenge on the forces for what happened? Pushing that thought aside for the moment, Ed brought his hand to hold the man's chin, roughly pressing him against the side of the SUV and clenched his jaw. "And you think letting her die will?"

The man hesitated for a moment, holding the SRU Team Leader's stare. "What makes you think he plans on killing her?"

"Because he didn't make any demands," Ed quickly snapped in response and a thought crossed his mind, something he was planning on using. He let go of his chin but kept his hand on his neck. "He didn't even bargain to have you back. He doesn't care for you, you're just an accessory." He let that sink in for a moment and judging by the way White's nose curled up in annoyance, it seemed to have the desired effect. "Where are they?" They had already lost precious minutes, they needed to hurry if Flynn turned out half a dangerous as he sounded.

It took a few seconds but eventually, the man's chin pointed towards the street. "Fourth house on the right."

Ed followed his gaze for a moment as the rest of the team darted in that direction and then looked back at White, still holding onto him. "And what tells me you're not just playing us again?"

"Look I have no idea if they're still there, that's where they were supposed to be. We figured if you came looking for us, you'd eventually find Brendan's house. That one isn't occupied yet, it seemed like a good option, gave us a chance to see you guys coming."

Not liking the odds of them finding Flynn with this new intel, Ed grabbed White again and shoved him back in the backseat where he had been a minute before, locked him in and followed quickly after the rest of the team. If the subject saw them coming, he was probably long gone by now. Maybe all this talking gave him enough time to leave with Jules, too.

Having a few seconds behind the others, Ed joined the half of the team that was on the white wall while Leah and Spike had gone to the back. "Let's move, let's go!" he barked as soon as he made it by the door and once again, they kicked down the doors in unison.

Greg was following close behind Eddie. He was normally keeping his cool on the rare occasions he was part of an entry team but this time around with Jules in harm's way, he couldn't help but to feel an added nervousness at what they could find here.

They cleared the ground floor and soon Ed led his small group over to the basement door, knowing the other two would take care of the top story. Carefully, he went down the set of stairs, Greg and Raf on his six. The house was divided differently than the one they had just cleared even though the cement ground and the unfinished walls looked the same. The three of them fanned out and took different rooms.

It was Greg who found her. The room was the same he'd seen in the picture, Jules was nearly hanging from the ceiling right in the middle of it. While her position was similar from what he'd seen on his PDA, one big difference caused the Sergeant's throat to tighten and his heart to flip in his chest. "Eddie!" he urged, looking in sheer horror at the blood trail from her chest to the pool that accumulated on the ground at her feet. Seeing as she was alone in the room, he holstered his weapon as he ran to her. His first instinct was to apply pressure on the wound to keep it from bleeding out. "Jules!?" he asked in a panic-stricken voice as she didn't move an inch before pulling the glove off his free hand with his teeth and touching her neck, looking for a pulse.

Ed appeared in the doorway at that exact moment, followed by Raf. Both of them froze at the sight for a second and then darted to give their boss a hand.

The pulse was weak, but it was there and Greg breathed out in relief. "Winnie, we need EMS right now!"

"Already on the way!" the dispatcher replied.

While Greg kept pressure on what looked like a stab wound, Ed supported Jules' body while Raf unlocked the cuffs, setting her free.

"Careful," the Sergeant instructed, worried the extent of her injuries would be worsened if they were too rough with her even though they were only trying to get her out of this uncomfortable position. Now that they had a better look at her, what they hadn't seen earlier on the picture was that on the other side of her head at the hairline was a bleeding wound, probably where her head had been hit back in the command truck.

A soft whimper escaped Jules' throat when, after freeing her arms, they slowly set her on the ground. Her being responsive, even though it also meant she was in pain, was enough to warm Greg's heart. She was a fighter, she was going to pull through if she was given the chance.

While Ed cut the tape around her ankles, Greg carefully peeled off the strips that covered her mouth to give her a chance to breathe more easily. "Jules, you're gonna be alright. We got you." He wasn't sure she was hearing him in her current condition – her eyes were still closed and she was having no apparent control over her limbs – but he still felt the need to comfort her. She didn't look fully unconscious however. Her face wasn't peaceful like she was sleeping, it looked like she was fighting it, fighting the pain, fighting the darkness.

"Ed!" Leah's voice cut through the comms, causing the Team Leader to finally tear his horrified gaze away from Jules' battered frame. "I got Flynn trying to break White out of the SUV!" By the tone of her voice, she was already making her way in that particular direction.

Greg looked up at Ed and Raf and seeing as there was nothing more they could do here until the medics arrived, he quickly nodded at them. "Go! I'll stay with her."

None of them needed to be told twice and they quickly darted off.

After they were out of his sight, Greg looked back down at Jules, his features tainted with sadness. He still maintained pressure on her wound to keep more blood from leaving her body. Although by the looks of it, whatever he had stabbed her with hadn't reached a major artery or she would have already bled out. He studied her, giving her a proper once-over for the first time. Not unlike what they had seen in the picture, the right side of her face was tinted with a soft shade of blue and an inch long gash went across her cheekbone. There were also definite bruises along her jawline. Then, there was the head wound on her left side. It was hard to tell what she could have been hit with, but the contusion was large and if it had knocked her out cold, Greg feared for a concussion on top of everything else. Sadly, those were only the currently visible trauma her body had endured. He hoped there weren't any more.

"Sarge," Jules' weak voice spoke after a moment.

Greg looked up to her face as her arm tried to reach out for him. He grabbed his hand in hers to keep her from moving any further than she had to. "Easy, kiddo. Easy. I'm right here." His eyes stopped on her wrist as two definite bloody lacerations showed where the metal dug in her skin, telling him how tight the cuffs had been. The whole area was reddened except for a bright bruise-blue spot where the thumb bone began.

"Sam," she managed to blurt out as her eyes flickered half-open. Her nose curled up in pain. "Flynn… Sam…"

"We know, Jules. The Team's going after him right now. Sam will be fine. Just stay with me." He couldn't help but notice that in typical Jules fashion, despite being in a life-threatening situation, she still worried about the others' well-being first and foremost.

A soft hum made for an answer and her eyes closed fully again as she winced.

"Winnie, where's my ambulance?" Greg questioned, seeing the obvious pain in Jules' body language. He wished he could do something to take it all away and ease her suffering. He couldn't believe everything she'd gone through, he couldn't believe Flynn had taken her from right under their nose.

"Seconds away!" Winnie chimed in.

As if knowing she was now in good hands and that the team had found her and would take care of Flynn, Jules succumbed to unconsciousness.

AN 2: Ready for Sam to find out about this?